APC convention holds in 2021, NEC meeting before Christmas

There were strong indications on Monday that the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress would meet before December 25.

The PUNCH gathered that because of the limited time at the disposal of the party’s National Convention Planning Committee, it would seek an extension of its tenure for six months during the meeting.

Multiple sources in the party, who confided in our correspondent, said it was becoming inevitable that the national convention would hold next year.

Recall that the APC NEC at its meeting in the Presidential Villa on June 25, 2020, dissolved the Adams Oshiomhole National Working Committee and set up a panel headed by the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni.

According to the decision reached at the NEC meeting and the constitution of the party, the Buni-led interim committee has a six-month tenure within which it is expected to organise a national convention, where substantive leaders of the party will emerge.

But multiple sources within the party’s hierarchy, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Monday because they were not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, said it was now almost certain that “the convention can no longer hold this year.”

One of the sources said, “The process of rebuilding anything takes time, efforts and patience. The wounds inflicted on cohesion within the party by Adams Oshiomhole are still fresh.

“You will agree with me that the National Caretaker Committee started the reconciliation process while preparing for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, respectively.

“With these elections over, they are just settling down to the real business of reconciling aggrieved party members and have just set in motion the machinery for the planned nationwide registration, update and revalidation of the party’s membership register.

“These are needed not just for record purposes, but to ensure that those who will participate in our forthcoming convention are actually party members. Other things being equal, we should have our National Executive Council meeting on or before December 25, when the initial six months given to the caretaker committee will lapse.”

Another party leader, who confided in The PUNCH, said, “It is almost certain that the interim committee is not prepared to hold the convention this year. If it is ready, it would have started preparations from the ward level. Besides, no timetable has been released for the convention.”