Protest as APC inaugurates convention committees

John Alechenu, Abuja

There was a drama at the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress on Wednesday as some members protested the removal of their names from the party’s sub-committees for its national convention.

Some members, whose names were published in a national newspaper on Wednesday, had arrived at the party’s secretariat to register.

But the peaceful atmosphere at the secretariat became rowdy when the members discovered that their names were no longer on the list.

There were loud protests from some of the affected persons, when the registration officers insisted that their names were not on the list given to them.

 It was gathered that close to 50 names initially published in the media by the convention committee were replaced with names on a list allegedly sent in from the Presidency.

Another source of contention was the exclusion of the members of staff of the party’s National Secretariat from the membership of the convention committee.

A member of staff of the APC National Secretariat, whose name was given simply as Bala, could not control his emotion as he called registration officials names after threatening to beat them up.

He shouted, “We will not accept this.  We are the people who suffered for this party only for some thieves to come and hijack the process; they must tell us who this Presidency is today.”

It took the intervention of some senior party members for calm to be restored.

None of the persons said to have been affected agreed to speak on the record because they were given the assurance that the issue would be looked into.

The inauguration of the committee itself was held without hitches.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Convention Committee, who is also the governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru,  spoke to newsmen after inaugurating the 12 sub-committees.

He, however, denied reports that the committee was planning to spend N6bn on the convention. The governor also explained that his committee had suggested June 23 as the new date for the convention earlier scheduled for June 2nd.

Badaru said, “It was suggested today that we should have the convention on 23rd of June but we will have to discuss it with the national secretariat to confirm the date.”

On the alleged N6bn budget for the convention, Badaru said the amount was nothing near what was being reported, noting that “we are raising it from party members and they have started donating.

“I’m very sure it (budget) is far less than that. Tomorrow, we are getting all the budgets from all the sub-committees but I can assure you that they are far less. Knowing me and knowing what I stand for, you will know that it will be the cheapest convention ever.”

When asked whether he was worried about the recent parallel congresses witnessed in many states of the federation, the governor said, “I’m sure they will be resolved before the time of the convention. Most of those issues will find the way to be resolved in due time.”

The Chairman of one of the sub-committees, Senator Ahmed Sani, expressed confidence that the committee would deliver on its mandate and that the proposed date of June 23rd if approved, would give members the sufficient time to plan.

He told reporters, “We are confident that everything will go on well, the timing is perfect because now people can go back and prepare for the convention proper.”

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