APC Convention: Pressure Mounts On Buni, Oyetola To Resign

Despite the resolution of governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that the planned national convention should go ahead in February, pressure is mount­ing on Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, who is also the Chairman of Caretaker Extraordinary Conven­tion Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, a member of the CECPC, to resign from committee.

It would be recalled that Chairman of Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, as well as Buni, had after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock Villa on November 22,2021, announced February for APC’s national convention.

With January gradually drawing to a close, no definite date has been fixed for the con­vention while some party chief­tains have called for it to be post­poned in order to give room for the party to address the myriads of challenges confronting it.

However, speaking after the meeting of the APC governors on Sunday night, Bagudu said while they have agreed that the convention will go ahead in February, the announcement of the date will be made known by the caretaker committee of the party.

“We discussed our upcoming convention which you may recall I had cause to address the press after we visited President Buhari in November 2021 where the president and the party agreed that the convention would take place in February,” the governor added.

“We are one group of stake­holders in the party and our party respects institutions. The appropriate organ of the party that will announce a date for the national convention is the CECPC.”

Governor Bagudu also disclosed that the governors passed a vote of confidence on the caretaker committee of the party, led by the Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni.

“We spoke about our unan­imous appreciation of Mr. President and especially the confidence he has on the forum and we also passed a vote of confidence on the national caretaker and extraordinary convention planning committee of the party chaired by Governor Mai Mala Buni including two governors – Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State and Gboyega Oyeto­la of Osun State.”

However, stakeholders who spoke with Daily Independent on Monday said the much-antic­ipated meeting of the governors on Sunday failed to achieve any meaningful purpose as no specific date was arrived at by the APC governors.

They also argued that hold­ing the convention with Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, in charge will spell doom for the party.

While also calling on the two other governors in the commit­tee to step down, the stakeholders said they cannot be in the committee that will over see their governorship primaries as that will amount to “being a judge in their own case”.

A serving senator in the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was disappointed at the out come of the meeting of the governors as he was expect­ing that a date will be arrived at the meeting.

“To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Many of us were expecting that a spe­cific date will be arrived at by the governors. If they believe that the convention is no longer fea­sible in February, then they can postpone it. But they concluded the meeting by saying that the convention will still take place in February and that they passed a vote of confidence in Buni-led committee.

“I have spoken with several of my colleagues and they believe that Governor Buni cannot pre­side over the convention. Right now, the Buni committee is per­ceived as an illegal committee owing to the Supreme Court judgment on the Ondo gover­norship election. Many also be­lieve that majority of the actions taken by Buni as APC chairman will be nullified including the convention.

“Another issue is that of the primary. Some of the governors who are serving their first term want reelection. Both Buni and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State are in the APC caretaker com­mittee. The Osun governorship primary is coming up in Feb­ruary. That means he is part of the process. He will know every­thing about the committee the party will set up. He is going to be a judge in his own case.

“The same thing with Gov­ernor Buni. He is returning as governor and that automatical­ly gives him an unfair edge over other APC aspirants. Staying a day more in the caretaker com­mittee is dangerous for the par­ty. Every other day they stay in office portends grave danger for the party”.