Row In APC Over Convention Panel

By Yusuf Alli and Jide Orintunsin, Abuja

– State chairmen protest
PDP men on withdrawn list
– The composition of the convention committee has sparked a row in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

State chairmen, led by Forum of State Chairmen leader Ali Buke Dalori, were yesterday at the party’s national secretariat to protest the non-inclusion of lists submitted by state chapters.

Dalori is chairman of the Borno State chapter.

The Caretaker Committee, led by Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, on Sunday night withdrew the list earlier released, following complaints by many stakeholders.

A source said majority of nominations from the Presidency did not feature on the list of the 20 sub-committees.

It was gathered that Buni, who was angry, directed that the initial list be dropped.

A source said: “The Caretaker Committee seems to have lost grip of the whole process. The governors had earlier hijacked the process from the committee. Now, the state chairmen are forcing their way on the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC). I doubt if the Caretaker Committee is still in charge.”

Some chairmanship aspirants were irked by the composition of the Screening sub-committee.

Some husbands and their wives were also appointed into sub-committees, they alleged.

Also, some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members were alleged to have been included in the sub-committees.

Those in this category are those who defected from the APC to the PDP as a result of the crisis in their state chapters.

It was learnt that many party leaders and members were unhappy with the alleged padded list of sub-committees.

It was also learnt that some governors submitted names at random for inclusion.

State chairmen expressed shock that they were not consulted on nominations into the subcommittees.

Dalori was invited to the National Secretariat of the party to review the list.

A source said: “It seems some of our leaders and presidential aspirants are going to use the convention to promote their aspirations.

“The worst aspect is the fact that the names of some members of the opposition PDP. They included some APC members in Kano who have defected to the opposition party.”