Uncertainty Trails APC March 26 National Convention

 

Following the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APCnational )'s leadership to write a new notification to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the 21-day legal timeframe, there are clouds of uncertainty hanging over the much-delayed national convention. Already, the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) had failed to start the sale of nomination forms for zonal congresses scheduled to take place between Monday, February 28 and Thursday, March 3, 2022, despite having previously released a timetable and schedule of activities.

The Caretaker Committee had written INEC in a letter signed by the Chairman and Secretary of Caretaker Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni and Senator John James Akpanudoedehe respectively, to notify it of its arrangement to conduct zonal congresses on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

Although the ruling party made a U-turn to fix the convention for March 26, it did not open another correspondence with the commission to notify it of the change in the arrangement for the convention, 21 days to the scheduled date.

Speaking to Sunday Sun on telephone, a source at the Commission said that he cannot authenticate the receipt of any fresh correspondent from the ruling party, saying that the commission ought to have received the fresh letter by yesterday.

“I cannot confirm to you now whether APC has written to notify the Commission of the new date, but the party was supposed to do so by yesterday to meet up with the 21 days deadline. However, I want to also add that they still have a window of writing a reminder instead of a new letter,” he said.

Another source, however, told our correspondent that the Caretaker Committee is not ready to conduct the convention, adding that the party’s leadership are pondering the option of combining the convention with the party’s primary, arguing that it will be very difficult to conduct the two exercises differently.