TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says its zonal congresses will now hold on March 26 — the same day billed for its national convention.

The zonal congresses were previously slated for March 12.

Ismaeel Ahmed, youth representative and spokesperson of the caretaker/extraordinary convention planning committee (CECPC), announced the new development on Friday at a media briefing in Abuja.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ahmed also assured party members that the national convention is “on course and sacrosanct”.

Giving an update on the efforts of the committee towards ensuring a hitch-free convention, Ahmed said the CECPC has stepped up preparations.

“35 state chairmen of the APC and that of the FCT were sworn in and mandated to work towards ensuring unity and harmony in their states. They were also charged to mobilise the members and the people to enable the party win future elections,” he said.

“The CECPC received and deliberated on the report of the committee on zoning. After exhaustively deliberating on the report, it was approved and the zoning formula was made public.

“The CECPC assigned schedules of specific responsibilities to each member of the caretaker committee aligned to the existing directorates at the party’s headquarters. The purpose is to ensure speedy execution of the various activities leading to the national convention on March 26, 2022.

“The exercise has the additional benefit of ensuring synergy between the leadership of the party and the directorates.”

He added that the list for the party’s national convention sub-committees was reduced because the previous one was “unnecessarily unwieldy and comprised an excessive number of members”, which he said could reduce their efficiency.

TheCable had reported how Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe, had plotted to scuttle the APC’s convention and hold onto his position as the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee.

But Abubakar Sani Bello, governor of Niger, has since taken charge of the party’s affairs.