APC Set to Hold Long-Awaited Meetings in September
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, is set to officially summon the long-awaited meetings of the National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) in September. This development comes barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu gave his consent in a phone chat with the party leadership.
The planned gathering of APC bigwigs and party stakeholders will be the first since the former Kano governor took over the leadership of the APC National Working Committee (NWC). The appointments of both Ganduje and the National Secretary of the party, Senator Ajibola Basiru, were ratified at the last NEC held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on August 3, 2023.
When contacted, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, confirmed the report but noted that the NWC had not met to deliberate on the specific date in accordance with Article 12.3 of the APC Constitution. Duru stated that the party had written to President Tinubu concerning the NEC and he suggested two days in September to choose from. The NWC will meet to agree on the date, and the outcome will be announced to the media after a decision has been taken.
A close source at the party secretariat, who craved anonymity, revealed that President Tinubu told the party to choose between September 6 and 18 to hold the meeting. The source also expressed doubt about the seriousness of the discussions at the NEC, stating that the Ganduje-led NWC will likely only give an account of their stewardship in the past year.
The source added that constitutionally, the NWC ought to call for NEC meetings to be held at least once each quarter to review the power given to them. However, this current NWC has little or nothing to fight over, unlike the last NWC which was embroiled in a leadership crisis.
The crucial sessions of the two statutory organs of the party will be chaired by President Tinubu and will have Vice President Kashim Shettima, former President Muhammadu Buhari, past and present APC governors, as well as former and current Senate Presidents, Speakers of the House of Representatives, the National Working Committee, and other party stakeholders in attendance.
