APC: NEC to set date today, for congress , convention
The meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) holds today in Abuja.
Daily Trust leant from credible sources that President Muhammadu Buhari would attend the meeting before proceeding to the United Kingdom.
The APC Assistant Director, Publicity, Edegbe Odemwingie, confirmed this to journalists yesterday in Abuja.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, had earlier told Daily Trust’s correspondent on Friday that preparations for the meeting had started before it was finally announced on Wednesday last week.
The explanation put to rest the possibility that the emergency NEC meeting might have contravened the provisions of the APC Constitution that stated that at least seven days’ notice should be given to members to attend such meeting.
Daily Trust gathered that a final decision on the tenure elongation saga would be taken today after last Friday’s submission of the report of a 10-man NEC Technical Committee led by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.
The committee was believed to have recommended the conduct of fresh congresses and national convention after President Muhammadu Buhari had secured the backing of most APC governors.
The February 27, 2018 NEC meeting had approved a controversial extension of the tenures of Chief John OdigieOyegun-led APC NWC and other party officials across all levels by one year.
But at the March 27, 2018 NEC meeting, President Buhari said the outcome of his consultations with legal experts showed that the tenure elongation contravened not only the party constitution but also the Nigerian constitution.
Meanwhile, today’s NEC meeting is expected to endorse the demand for congresses and convention and announce the dates for the exercise. Already, Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State had been tipped as the Chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee.
Other key issues expected to be tabled at today’s discussion were the reports of the party committees on Constitution Review and True Federalism.
During the last NEC meeting, the APC spokesman said it was agreed that a technical committee between the National Assembly, the executive, and the party be set up to look at the proposals point by point as quickly as possible on the report of True Federalism Committee, to enable the president transmit it to the National Assembly for action.
Malam Abdullahi, who said that no motion was taken to adopt the amended constitution, added that observations that were made would be incorporated into the draft constitution.