Dr Lukman Salihu, the Director-General of the All Progressive Congress, APC Governors Forum has asked the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni to resign his position as the Chairman of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) for the party.
Salihu said the ruling party is at a difficult political crossroads and would not fold its hands to see Buni and his committee jeopardize its plans.
In a communique dated January 5 that was rightly addressed to the Mala Buni-led committee.
Salihu admonished the Yobe State Governor to resign honourably if he fails to conduct the party’s convention tentatively slated for February.
“Party leaders must understand that the survival of the party was at stake and any attempt to continue to contemplate postponement of the convention meant gambling with the future of the party,” Salihu was quoted as saying in the communique.
Salihu’s communique entitled, “APC National Convention: Urgent Matters for the Survival of APC,” pointed out that the insinuation in the public was that the reluctance of Buni to proceed with implementation of the decision to hold the APC National Convention on February 5, 2022, as agreed was because governors want to continue to control the party.
The party Chieftain urged party leaders to consider convening an emergency meeting of the National Caucus to review all that is going on with the party and provide a promising solution.
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Salihu said hopefully after the meeting, the forum might provide an opportunity for Buni and the Secretary, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe to explain whatever difficulty they may be having.
The Director-General noted that some commentators both within the party and in the public had argued that there were deliberate efforts to prevent the convention from holding on February 5, 2022, which was why the CECPC did not make any public announcement or begin to make any preparations.
Salihu stressed: “It may also be necessary to appeal to both His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni and Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, in the event that the superior organ of the party, possibly the National Caucus, is unable to meet before January 15, 2022, they should take the path of honour and honourably resign by that date they have not concluded preparations for the Convention and appropriate notice to INEC duly served as required by the law.”
He said the failure of the Buni-led Committee to implement decisions makes APC leaders complicit and therefore agreeable to acts that are injurious to the survival of the party.
“Some of the speculations as the reasons for that include the alleged ambition of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni to manipulate his emergence as the substantive National Chairman of the party,” Salihu noted.
He also challenged Buni to present copies of the membership register to the President and party leaders, insisting that the ruling party is on the verge of crumbling if things do not go on rightly.
