Resign now or get sacked, APC stakeholders tell Buni committee

Some stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have asked members of the Governor Mai Mala Buni led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee to step aside to avoid being shown the exit door.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, spokesman of the stakeholders, Mr Ayo Oyalowo, said the Buni Committee has failed to resolve the contentious issues in the party.

He argued that the Committee was not willing to organise a national convention anytime soon, after conducting what he described as the worst ward, local government and state congresses.

He said the congresses, rather than put the party on strong footings had rather created further divisions and disenchantment among its members.

The stakeholders blamed the party’s defeat at the November 6 and 9, 2021 Anambra state governorship election on failure of the Buni committee to do things right, beginning from the primary that produced Andy Uba as the party’s candidate.

Oyalowo disclosed that they had written private letters to President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; APC National Leader, Ahmed Bola Tinubu; Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila for their intervention.

Oyalowo, who was flanked by other members of the group, also backed resolutions for the adoption of direct primary in the selection of party candidates for elections in the country.

“It has become obvious to all discerning party men and women that the CECPC cannot fix the problems it met on ground. If anything, the Caretaker Committee has created even more problems for the party than it was meant to resolve.”

“The fact it has even subsist for this long is a greater testimony to its failure. If the committee’s many ’round-about’ activities were effective, it would have since fulfilled its mandate and give the party a new leadership.

“To make matters worse, the Caretaker Committee, rather than manage the fallout of that unfortunate primary elections, busied itself pursing opposition party members to join the APC. But even with almost all the opposition party members emptying into the APC, the party still had the worse outing in the election.

“On the basis of the above and many others too numerous to mention, the Concerned APC Stakeholders is calling for the immediate resignation of the Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee for their glaring failures in managing the affairs of the party; failure of which the Committee should be immediately dissolved and a new committee whose task will be to immediately conduct the National Convention of the party be constituted,” the stakeholders said.

Contacted for comments, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, told Daily Trust in a telephone chat that “the Caretaker Committee can’t be dissolved until it organises a national convention.”