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More Troubles As APC Factions Kick Against March 26 Convention Date
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The All Progressives Congress state factions have warned the party against going ahead with the March 12 zonal congresses and March 26 national convention without resolving crises in its state chapters.
This is just as the APC governors in Abuja on Tuesday endorsed the new date for the national convention while also revealing the zoning formula. The party also said its next chairman would emerge through consensus.
The Progressive Governors Forum revealed that it had agreed on a simple, equitable zoning formula for all the six geopolitical zones by swapping positions between northern and southern zones.
This confirms an earlier PUNCH report on the APC’s zoning formula which was published on January 19, 2022 but was tagged fake news by the Secretary to the APC Caretaker Committee, John Akpanudoedehe.
Addressing State House correspondents shortly after a meeting of the governors at the Presidential Villa, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said positions that were previously zoned to the North would go to the South and vice versa.
The governor, who spoke shortly after the council chairman, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, also revealed that although the governors initially disagreed on the timing of the party’s national convention, said they have since settled on a suitable convention date and zoning formula.
He explained that the division was a mere disagreement typical of any group and does not constitute fallout in the forum.
According to him, “We have agreed on a zoning formula for all the six geopolitical zones and essentially we swapped. Northern zones will take positions that southern zones held in the last eight years and vice versa. So, it is a 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 March 26, we will have a national convention. Whether we do zonal convention before that, or do it at the same time, again, the constitution is silent. So as our chairman said, we can decide either way.”
Based on El-Rufai’s statement, it means the next chairman of the party will be from the North while the Secretary will go to the South. The national treasurer (South), national financial secretary (North), national legal adviser (North), national organising secretary (North) national welfare officer (South), national youth leader (South), national woman leader (South) and national publicity secretary (South) among others.
Asked if there were disagreements between the governors, he said “Yes, we were divided. We were divided over the timing of the convention. There were some governors that felt that we should put off the convention until we resolve all the congresses’ ssues in some states.
“So some governors held the view that we should wait until all this was resolved. And this is not borne out of any agenda or selfishness. It is just a realistic proposition to avoid us violating any laws or putting our party structures of elected candidates in danger.
“So yes, there were differences in opinion about timing. Some of us are saying the constitution allows us to have a convention even if three or four states have issues that are unresolved, while others were saying no, let us finish all the reconciliations and we do this convention. After all, there is no time limit for the convention as long as we do it before the time for the primaries. So that was the difference. This is what the media have called divided governors.”
He, however, said all issues had been resolved and all governors are now on the same page.
The Punch
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, criticised President Bola Tinubu’s “Emi Lokan” slogan ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Makinde said Nigerians do not need “turn-by-turn nepotism”, arguing that voters should be free to decide who becomes the country’s next president in 2027.
The Oyo State governor spoke during the APM’s town hall meeting in Akure, Ondo State.
Makinde asked: “How can someone say ‘Eemi lokan’ in a country like Nigeria? You were given the opportunity. If you recall the 1999 presidential election, the South-West voted massively for Baba Olu Falae, but the rest of Nigerians voted for Baba Obasanjo. So, this is not an issue that only the South-West can resolve; it is an issue we must address collectively as Nigerians.
“We do not want ‘turn-by-turn nepotism’, nor do we want a situation where people say, ‘I will vote for projects because it is my turn’. You will not finish those projects, and when it becomes someone else’s turn, they will do the same thing. We will end up with a Nigeria where we cannot get value for the resources belonging to Nigerians.
“The Reset Nigeria agenda is about building a country where infrastructure development supports economic growth and addresses the concerns of young people and women.
“Once we fix our economy, no zone will be left behind, and no demographic group will be left behind.”
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied saying the Federal government will introduce a fuel tax when the economy stabilises and income levels improve.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Oyedele said his remarks during an interview with ARISE News was misrepresented, insisting that a “fuel tax is not on the table.”
However, during the interview with Rotus Odiri, ARISE News Business Correspondent, on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Oyedele said the tax would come when income levels improve enough for Nigerians to accommodate it.
He said taxes account for between 20 and 80 percent of pump prices in some countries, while many African countries impose between six and 10 different taxes on fuel products.
He said introducing fuel tax while petrol was still subsidised would have been counterproductive because government would effectively be paying the tax itself.
According to him, imposing the tax immediately after removal of petrol subsidy would be insensitive to Nigerians.
“The objective should be that instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn’t worked for us, it hasn’t worked for any country in the world, not one. Instead of trying to suppress prices, think about how to grow income faster than prices rise,” Oyedele said.
“That’s how you bring prosperity and grow the middle class and that is exactly what we are doing as led by Mr. President himself.
“At the appropriate time, when the economy has stabilizes and income level will be able to accommodate it, those taxes will come. Not because we want to impose taxes,” he added.
In his Tuesday post, the minister reiterated that introducing a fuel tax at this time would be insensitive following removal of petrol subsidy, describing reports that government will introduce the levy when the economy stabilises as “fake news.”
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Deputy Director of the Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, has described former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the most nationally formidable and experienced among the leading contenders for the 2027 presidential election.
Momodu said Atiku’s experience at the national level distinguishes him from President Bola Tinubu and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi.
He stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, in Abeokuta.
“If you look at the antecedents of the three major candidates, between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, you will see that Atiku is the most experienced. He has managed our country at the highest level,” he said.
Momodu traced Atiku’s political journey to the 1992 Social Democratic Party (SDP), presidential primary where he contested against late MKO Abiola and stepped down for him.
He said Atiku accepted the outcome without crisis even after he was not picked as Abiola’s running mate, describing it as a mark of true democratic temperament.
“He is the only one who started from around 1992, contested the SDP primary against Abiola and stepped down with uncommon equanimity. He did not make any noise,” Momodu said.
He noted that Atiku was among the founders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and served as Vice-President from 1999 to 2007.
Comparing Atiku with Obi, Momodu argued that while Obi’s best was demonstrated in Anambra, Atiku’s was at the presidency level managing the national economy.
“Peter Obi has tried his best in Anambra, while Atiku’s best is at the level of vice president controlling the economy of Nigeria. The difference is clear. He has matured in experience and exposure,” he said.
Momodu also said President Tinubu’s experience was largely limited to Lagos.
“What I’m trying to say is that Tinubu’s experience was limited to Lagos, and that is why when he became president, he thought Nigeria was Lagos. And he has found out now that Nigeria is not Lagos,” he said.
He argued that the current economic hardship under the present administration did not show prosperity, insisting Atiku remained better positioned to lead the country.
“Well, we are yet to see that prosperity, and if yesterday would determine today and tomorrow, it is obvious that Tinubu should retire now and let someone else do it,” Momodu added.
DailyPost
