UPDATED: Buhari, APC govs agree on zoning, convention

President Muhammadu Buhari and Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have agreed on zoning of party and elective offices.

All positions are to be swapped between the North and the South.

This also means that the Presidency will go the South while the North takes the Vice Presidency.

Other offices outside party offices include Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Speaker.

The six elective offices will be shared among the six geo-political zones.

Automatically, the National Chairman of the party will go to the North while National Secretary comes to the South.

These are some of the resolutions reached at on Tuesday after a meeting between APC governors and President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who admitted about division on the National Convention, said all the party offices would be swapped between the North and South.

El-Rufai: “We have agreed a zoning formula for all the six geopolitical zones and essentially, northern zones will take positions that Southern zones had in the last eight years and vice versa. So very simple, equitable and fair formula.

“We will now go back and consult at the zonal level, and look at the positions that are available and the process of the convention preparation will start in earnest.

“So by the grace of God on the 26th of March, we will have done a national convention.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari were at the meeting.

Eighteen governors were in attendance.

The APC governors had on Monday met in Abuja  over the crisis rocking the forthcoming National Convention.

The APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) postponed the party’s national convention from February 26 to March 26 on Monday.

It released a new timetable and schedule of activities for the National Convention and Zonal Congresses on Monday.

According to the new timetable, activities for the national convention will begin on Feb. 24 with the publication of committees for the zonal congresses.

Sale of forms to aspirants for elective offices will begin from Wednesday, March 9 and end on Friday March 11.

Governor Abubakar Bagudu had provided insight into the Monday’s meeting of and the expected conversation with on Tuesday.

“As a forum, we met on Monday and agreed to meet with President Buhari on Tuesday for further discussion on the national convention and other issues.

“We will rather not comment on any timetable or any activities until we meet with the president,” Governor Abubakar Bagudu said on Tuesday morning after the meeting.

Bagudu, who is Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), said Monday’s meeting discussed developments in states and reviewed recent council elections in the FCT and Saturday’s Osun State governorship primaries.

PGF is the umbrella body of all APC governors.

He added that the meeting also discussed the court judgement that resolved the 2021 Kano State congress issue and preparations for the party’s national convention.

“We had briefings from the chairman of the CECPC, Governor Mai-Mala Buni of Yobe,” he said.

Bagudu assured that APC governors would continue to earn the confidence of Nigerians by delivering on their electoral mandates transparently.

He appreciated Nigerians for showing interest in happenings within the party’s rank and file, adding that the forum would continue to work with other stakeholders to enthrone good governance.

He said the forum was conscious of the fact that Nigerians held the APC in high esteem, and would not disappoint them.

“All APC governors have met, and as always, we appreciate the need to work with other stakeholders.

“We had always been humble to acknowledge that we are not the only stakeholders in the party.

“We will work with other stakeholders to ensure that we deliver transparently and honestly, national executives that will continue to earn the confidence of all party members and of Nigerians,” he said.

TheStar