The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday asked those intending to change the National Working Committee (NWC) members to bury their hatchets.
This was as the National Executive Committee (NEC) passed a vote of confidence in the NWC members during its meeting.
The NEC also passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for good governance.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, who briefed the press after the meeting, said the meeting did not discuss the 2027 presidential election, as the President is presently focused on delivering good governance.
According to him, the NEC reviewed the economic situation of the country and believed that the President was doing well.
Morka also said that the NEC passed a vote of confidence in the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the members of the NWC.
According to him, there was no issue of any change in the leadership of the NEC at the meeting, as the National Chairmanship of the party has been zoned to the North West.
Morka dismissed the insinuations that the meeting was not well attended, as former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasiru El-Rufai, former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, and some others did not attend the meeting.
According to him, every NEC member was properly invited, and they never expected everyone to be in attendance.
It is pertinent to note that the NEC meeting is held just once every two years.
Speaking at the meeting, the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, said:
“Your Excellencies, it has been a year and a half since I stood before you to accept the honor and responsibility bestowed on me and my colleagues to lead this great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Though the journey, I must admit, has been very challenging for us as a ruling party in view of the big task we have at hand and the expectations from Nigerians, however, we can sufficiently submit that we have collectively risen to the occasion and challenges.
“Your Excellencies, in order to have a full-fledged National Working Committee (NWC) and in line with the directives of the National Executive, we received at our headquarters the British High Commissioner, the European Union Ambassador, the Ghanaian High Commissioner, the Jamaican High Commissioner, the Cuban Ambassador, the Vietnamese Ambassador, the North Korean and Venezuelan Ambassadors, among others.
Further, he said:
“Your Excellencies, in fulfillment of our promise of taking the party to the grassroots, the National Working Committee introduced a new people-centered approach to campaign administration. Instead of the usual practice of inaugurating national campaign governorship councils for states in Abuja, the campaign councils are inaugurated in the affected states to allow for greater participation by party members and other stakeholders in their respective states.
“This innovation has helped to engage the right people to organize and manage campaigns in their states for effective delivery before and during the election. Your Excellencies, as you are aware, we won governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, Edo, and Ondo, but unfortunately lost in Bayelsa State. The details of the election results are contained in your folder.
“Your Excellency, our focus is now on Anambra and Osun states, and in compliance with the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party has already begun preparations in earnest for the conduct of the primary elections in Anambra, scheduled for April.”
Ganduje also informed NEC about other achievements and interventions made by the NWC under his leadership.
Morka, dismissing the absence of some persons at the meeting, said:
“The presence or absence of some of our leaders at today’s meeting—as far as I know, I have never known the caucus meeting of our party or the NEC meeting of our party to be attended 100% by all members. And I’m not sure there’s any political party where 100% attendance at meetings is achieved.
“There’s a lot of negotiation, a lot of back-end negotiation regarding the convenience and availability of key leaders who are required to be at the meeting.
“For example, when you have a President as busy as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it’s not a tea party to reconcile his movements and schedule to get him to sit at a meeting for three or four hours. It’s not that easy.
“So whatever day you pick will be convenient for some and may not be convenient for others. And that’s just the way it is.
“The list of members today was comprehensive. As a matter of fact, we enlarged the list today. For this meeting, we had more members invited than we did previously.”
Speaking on the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, and his altercations with the APC, he said:
“Now, as for statements credited to the former Governor of Kaduna State regarding whether the organs of the party are working or not, I think any Nigerian knows the answer to that question. APC and its organs are working as effectively as possible.
“How else do you explain the vibrancy of the party? How else do you explain the influx of people?
“Today, it was said that more than 18 legislators in the National Assembly—if I’m not mistaken—have already defected from opposition parties to our party. If their parties were working more efficiently, they wouldn’t be coming to join us.
“And we welcome them because it’s a democracy. Every citizen has the freedom to associate freely. There’s a difference between party men and people who speak because they have a grievance.
“Grievance-driven commentary, to me, is not to be taken that seriously.
“And to suggest to him that some of his recent engagements are unnecessary for someone who occupies the position that he has acquired in this country.
“Men who are respected must also continue to justify the respect that they get. It’s not a good idea that once you are dissatisfied, especially when it comes to personal experiences, you want to visit your personal grievance on a system of equality.”
The post APC Dismisses Calls For NWC Change, Says Party Organs Are Working Effectively appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
6 min read
1,027 words
4 views