APC Convention: Aspirants Defy Buhari, Refuse To Embrace Consensus

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will be holding its National Convention scheduled today Saturday, March 26. Delegates to the convention will be drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. Before this, there has been some crises in the ruling party. Mai Mala Buni, the Yobe State governor and the chairman of APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC),was reportedly removed from office and his replaced with Abubakar Bello, the Niger State governor also a member of the Committee. This generated a lot of crises. During this periods, Governors El Rufai of Kaduna state and Rotimi Akeredolu criticized the Buni.

Then there came speculations that the Caretaker Committee, especially Buni who is allegedly nursing Vice Presidential ambition was planning to postpone the exercise again and combined with the presidential primary election which is to hold between early April and June. Nasir El-Rufai, consequently accused Buni of hiding a court document temporarily restraining the APC from holding its convention on March 26 until a substantive suit has been heard and determined by party leaders.

However, Buni, Bello, some ministers and top APC big shots went to London to marshal their cases before recuperating Buhari, the leader of the party. Buni reportedly said he would not quit as CECPC chairman unless President Buhari wanted him to do so as claimed by his traducers in the party. Now, the convention is happening.