Fresh crisis is rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of its national convention slated for February 26, 2022 as some stakeholders in the party have called for the postponement of the event.
According to a sub-group of the party, APC Youth Development and Progressive Forum, failure to consider another date for the convention could ultimately hamper the party’s chances at next year’s general elections and truncate the nation’s democracy.
The group in a statement by its Secretary-General, Tobias Ogbeh, accused some Northern governors of hijacking APC and pushing for a convention that could ultimately destroy the party.
Ogbeh said a boycott was the “only way of saving the day now as it has become apparent that the cabal of some Northern governors had shredded the last vestige of democracy around them to give reign to full-blown dictatorship in the APC”.
He added that mass defection and legal tussle awaits the party if the February 26 convention was not postponed.
The group, therefore, urged all loyal stakeholders to unite and agree on a genuine way forward devoid of the destructive tendencies that “this cabal has brought into the party”.
Ogbeh said, “As you are aware, like any other political party in this country, the APC is presently weathering its internal issues, which have been made worse by certain Northern governors that have declared themselves emperors and absolute rulers that dictate what happens in the party.
“The most recent dictatorial act from these overbearing governors is their imposition of a date for the national convention of the APC, which they are touting to hold on February 26, 2022. It is a date they are tenuously holding onto even when it has been conclusively established that it flies in the face of logic, equity, and fair play. This is because these self-seeking elements have hijacked the party and are now insisting that a convention that is not in the interest of the party must take place on their appointed date.
“We would not go into details of all that has been at play in the APC since these are already in the public domain. What is obvious is that these people want the party to fail to oversee the affairs of the party from their secret covens. Serious-minded people and lovers of the party cannot and will not be a party to that kangaroo national convention that they are planning to hold.
“All reports available to stakeholders – political, strategic, logistics and security reports – now point to the fact that no convention can take place on February 26, 2022. Those that are peddling this phantom date have other plans as they are certainly not interested in the success of the convention they claim would be taking place on that date. In whose interest are the promoters of the February convention deriving their authority or inspiration knowing fully well that the party is not ripe now?
“We want to draw the attention of Nigerians to the following: with the lingering factional crisis in as many as 16 APC state chapters, even with the deployment of security on an industrial scale, there is no way of preventing the existing crisis from escalating. This implies that the promoters of the February national convention are encouraging the staging of the event in the expectation of an outbreak of violence. Even when the security operatives can prevent violence at the national convention, there is no way they can fan out to the 36 states – at least most of these states – prevent the post-convention violence that would be imported to the state chapters from the national event. The only way to prevent this is to postpone the national convention until thorny issues have been addressed.”
“In calling for this boycott, we hereby put the ruining cabal in the APC on notice that we will follow up with a legal challenge to invalidate whatever criminal outcome they procure from the event, which has already failed even before it held. We urge all loyal stakeholders of the APC to unite and agree on a germanane way forward, devoid of the destructive tendencies that this cabal has brought into the party.”
