A group, Concerned All Progressives Congress Members, has charged the party’s Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee to draw up a timetable to elect new National Working Committee members in December as proposed.
Alhaji Abdullahi Dauda, spokesman for the group, said this at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.
He said the Mai Mala Buni-led APC Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee was not being proactive about organising a national elective convention for the party as mandated.
Dauda said: “We have watched with amazement and disillusionment for months the inability of the APC caretaker committee to provide direction for the party and set up timetable for December elective convention.
“We are less than two months away from the December deadline and no meaningful plan is in place for the much awaited convention.”
Dauda recalled that the Bunt-led committee was inaugurated to address two critical challenges faced by the party.
This, he said, were to reconcile aggrieved party members and to conduct a national convention by December 2020 to elect a new NWC for the party.
He added that information reaching the group revealed that the committee was already planning to extend its tenure for one year.
Dauda said: “The Buni-led committee has shown in its actions that tenure elongation is its priority and being stakeholders in the party, we see the urgent need to speak out loudly.
“We are speaking out on time to save our party from another round of self inflicted crisis.
“It is our responsibility to speak up for posterity sake.
“We are giving the caretaker committee 14-day ultimatum to roll out plan of action and timetable for the party’s December elective convention or face mass demonstration of party members nationwide.
“A timetable leading to a hitch free convention must be released within the next 14 days.”
Dauda added that the party’s caretaker committee as presently constituted should halt its proposed registration of fresh members pending when a new National Working Committee is elected.
He said: “We are aware that the committee is planning registration of members, which is not part of the resolution of the last National Executive Committee.
“We call on the committee to let legally elected and constituted NWC to come and conduct the new membership registration for the party and jettison this idea.”
He said the group was worried that if the situation was not addressed with the desired urgency, it could bring up crisis within the party that could result to its collapse ahead of the 2023 elections.
Dauda, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Buni-led caretaker committee to order to avoid crisis in the party.
Reacting to the development, Yekini Nabena, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, said that “ultimatum does not help in resolving issue.”
Nabena called on the members of the group to come up with solutions, if they have any, to fast track the proposed national convention.
He said: “They don’t even have the right to issue ultimatum.
“There is no need of giving ultimatum.
“If they have any option or solution to fast track whatsoever their demand is, let them come to the secretariat with their papers so we can listen to them.
“It is not about issuing 14 days ultimatum.
“Party secretariat is open.
“Let them come.
“Let us put heads together and know what they are talking about.
“Ultimatum does not help matters.”
Nabena is also a member of the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee.