*Governors Kick Against Zoning Formula
The leadership of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has narrowed down the choices of those to occupy the party’s key positions as indication emerge that former governor Abdullahi Adamu has been pencilled down as the party’s National Chairman.
At the party’s National Convention scheduled for March 26, 2022, most of the positions are expected to be filled by consensus.
A reliable source in the party has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari, might have settled for former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, from North Central, as the consensus choice for national chairman
These indications emerged even as the party’s governors continue to bicker over the party’s zoning formula that was made public last week.
Their quarrel is that they were not adequately consulted by the Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, Mai Mala Buni, and that the formula was not formally adopted.
The APC governors would be meeting tomorrow, and are likely to deliberate on the contentious zoning list that is receiving a lot of pushback from party stakeholders.
Their meeting is also not unconnected to the election timetable recently released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the unusual duration between primaries and the general election.
The source reiterated that Buhari wanted the chairman of the party to come from North-central and has settled for Adamu as the next party chairman. He is also said to be favourably disposed to former Senate President Ken Nnamani from Enugu State as the deputy national chairman and the retention of the Secretary of the CECPC, Chief John Akpan Udoedehe as the party’s national secretary.
Former Gov. Adamu is now a Senator of the Federal Republic where Nnamani who represented Enugu East held sway as the Senate President from 2003 to 2007.
“The case for retaining Udoedehe was strongly made by the CECPC Chairman, Mai Mala Buni and the president has also approved,” the source said.
The case of Farouk Aliu as Deputy Chairman (North) has, however, not received approval as governors in the north-west have opposed his aspiration to be deputy chairman,” the source explained revealed.
However, while they have agreed that the next chairman of the APC should come from the north and the party’s presidential candidate from the southern part of the country, its leaders, mostly governors, were not comfortable with the zoning formula for other positions in the party.
But, with the release of INEC timetable, which has left little room for any further manouvre, there is renewed urgency to get things done quickly. Between the March 26 date for the party’s convention and beginning of primary season on April 4, according to INEC timetable released on Saturday, there is no enough time for the expected new NWC of the party to prepare for the primaries.
APC had earlier fixed February 26 for its national convention before it was rescheduled last week after a meeting of the party’s governors with Buhari.
At the meeting, the party also agreed to zone the national chairmanship position to the North-central, while the north would swap other party positions with the south as obtained in the Adams Oshiomhole National Working Committee (NWC).
