Check In APC As Governors Shuns Meeting With NWC

Governors from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),
yesterday did not turn up for a meeting called by the
National Working Committee (NWC) to discuss important
national issues.
The meeting was planned to discuss the rancorous
relationship between some APC governors over security
issues which was said to have caused serious
embarrassment to the party and the Federal Government.
Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Simon Lalong
of Plateau State were recently locked in media war over the
anti-grazing law in Benue.
The law had reportedly sparked crisis between herders and
farmers occasioned by loss of lives and property.
The Benue governor had also engaged his Nasarawa
counterpart, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
“The Benue governor is in serious disagreement with many
governors, most of whom have refused to key into the
media war in order to save the face of the party but the
situation is going out of hand,” the source said.
Another source said that was the primary reason for calling
the meeting “so that all the contentious issues could be
resolved.”
He said party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, wanted
to bring all the governors together to fashion out ways of
resolving their differences.
“Tension is really, really high because many of the APC
governors believe that some of their colleagues are simply
whipping up ethnic and religious sentiments ahead of 2019,”
he said.
The meeting was expected to involve the NWC members,
the 24 governors and party caucus in the National
Assembly.
Most of the governors had arrived in Abuja for the meeting
but it was abruptly called off over fears that the outcome
would likely leave the party more divided.
“When it became evident that the APC leadership would not
be able to make concrete decision to resolve the problem,
some governors backed out of the meeting,” a source close
to one of the governors said.
“Some of the governors instead suggested that President
Muhammadu Buhari should be more assertive as leader of
the party and the Commander-in- Chief; he should have
been the one to call all the APC governors and have a
discussion as a family,” he said.
The deputy governor of Osun State, Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-
Tomori, who arrived at the APC secretariat at 4: 25pm,
yesterday, expressed surprise that the meeting was
postponed without proper communication to them.
“We came all the way from Osun and we were not told that
the meeting has been postponed,” Titi Laoye-Tomori told
the party staff who also seemed to be confused about the
development.
But when contacted last night on the issue, the APC
National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said that
it was “unfortunate” that the “routine meeting” could not
hold.
Abdullahi, who hinted that there was no reason to worry
about the postponement, promised to provide information
on the new date, if necessary, after the NWC meeting next
Monday.
He said, “It’s a routine meeting now. It’s unfortunate the
meeting did not hold. There is no serious issue.”
Asked to give information on the likely new date, he said,
“We have NWC meeting on Monday. So, if we come out of
that meeting, if we have anything, I will let you know.”
Other sources said the governors shunned the meeting
when they realized that besides security issues, there were
moves by the current leadership to ensure that the tenure of
the NWC is extended beyond June, this year when their four-
year term expires.
Daily Trust learnt that the meeting was expected to discuss
the possible dates for the various congresses and national
convention.
But the latest lobbying for the elongation of the tenure of
the NWC was said to have made the majority of the
governors stay away from the meeting.
The governors, it was gathered, did not want to entertain
any tenure elongation for NWC members.
Over the weekend, there was a report which suggested
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC elected for four-year
tenure on June 13, 2014 should be allowed to stay in office
and organise the presidential primaries that would endorse
President Muhammadu Buhari later in the year as the APC
candidate in presidential election next year.
The statement of the APC National Chairman Odigie-Oyegun
On January 6, 2018 on the convention was said to have
further buttressed the notion in some quarters that he might
be willing to continue in the leadership position beyond June
13 this year when his tenure ends.
Odigie-Oyegun had said during an interactive session with
journalists that “we are going to have our convention. This
month, we are going to kick-start with the caucus and the
National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings. And the NEC
is the body authorized to approve the programmes leading
up to the convention. That will be done at the end of this
month.
“Thereafter, we will go through the process of congresses
from the bottom of the ladder, the ward to the local
government onto the state and finally a national convention.
“The whole purpose of this is to look at the leadership of
the party and let the members of the party decide who their
next leaders will be or if they want to re-establish or confirm
those who are in position by what proportion.
“So, this is going to be a very active year for the party….
That is what is likely to happen between January and June
of this year, beginning with the caucus, the NEC, the
congresses at all levels of the party and finally the national
convention.”
https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/apc-governors-shun-meeting-