The All Progressives Congress (APC) has fixed another National Executive Council (NEC) meeting for this month to fix the controversies arising from the one-year tenure extension granted the John Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC).
Mr Bolaji Abdullahi, national spokesperson of the party and a beneficiary of the extension, confirmed the coming meeting to Saturday Tribune.
The date for the meeting is for President Muhammadu Buhari to fix. As of press time, he had not communicated a definite date to the party leadership.
A party source said the exact date would be dependent on the president’s convenience. The controversial extension granted Oyegun and his NWC team at Tuesday’s NEC meeting, is generating ripples among party stakeholders who wanted a new national leadership, particularly the South-West wing of the party.
Lagos, Osun and Oyo governors, allies of the national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu were not present at the last NEC meeting.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki was also absent. He claimed a tight schedule for his absence. Abdullahi, also confirmed that the coming NEC meeting would be used to fill the lacuna in the extension granted the embattled NWC.
The amendment is expected to read what the NWC members would enjoy from May when their tenure officially ends, and that it is not an extension but acting appointments.
Whoever doesn’t fancy staying longer than May, among them, would be at personal liberty to leave, a party source told Saturday Tribune.
A couple of NWC members had complained of poor funding of the party. The report of the Nasir el-Rufai panel on restructuring is also on the card for consideration during the meeting.
Governors elected on the platform of the party had joined colleagues in opposition, to agree to state police. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, a statutory NEC member of the party, had also spoken on the state police push.
His public stance is taken to be President Buhari’s private endorsement.
The National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly are in the process of rounding off on the proposed amendment to the 1999 constitution (as amended) to reflect constitutional restructuring of the polity.
Amendments made to the party’s constitution which Oyegun NWC had approved, will also be considered at the coming NEC meeting, Abdullahi confirmed.
Nearly all members of the party’s NEC had received electronic copies of the revised constitution for study, ahead of the meeting, Saturday Tribune was told.
Highlights of the revised constitution include; compulsory membership due’s payment with attendant sanctions for defaulters, whittling of governors influence in picking candidates for local government elections, granting of waiver to new members to seek elective positions, strengthening of the office of the chairman of the party, general party discipline, internal democracy, among others.
The party’s spokesperson also confirmed the fixing of dates for governorship primary elections in Ekiti and Osun States.
While the party’s candidate will emerge for Ekiti governorship election on May 5, Osun will have a go at it on July 7.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed July 14 for Ekiti governorship election and September 22 for the Osun poll.
With the rocky relations between Tinubu and Oyegun, the peace and reconciliation agenda of the party, may have run into a hitch, with Oyegun staying beyond May 2018, a party source has disclosed.
Tinubu signed on leadership change at the top echelon of the party and had publicly engaged the national chairman in war-of-words.
Saturday Tribune gathered that while the party leadership has encouraged those on its trouble-shooting expedition to troubled state chapters, to make their reports available to Tinubu’s peace committee, the move is believed to be pacifist, because the party national leadership, according to senior sources, would end up implementing the peace recommendations.
Despite being a presidential assignment, Saturday Tribune’s checks showed that Buhari would still require the party leadership in Abuja to relate with the state chapters, to implement the peace deal.
A source close to Tinubu disclosed that “the whole thing (peace assignment) now appears like a mockery
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