President Muhammadu Buhari has agreed with the Governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to a tentative February, 2022 date for the party’s National Convention.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Monday after a closed door meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
The PGF, which is the forum for APC Governors, at the end of its meeting in Abuja on Sunday evening, had hinted that picking a date for the party’s convention would be determined after consultations with Buhari who is the leader of the party.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Malla Buni, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru were among the delegation that met with President Buhari.
“Yesterday, November 21, the Progressive Governors Forum met and as some of you may haveseen in press reports, I spoke after the meeting, where, in addition to congratulating and thanking the caretaker committee for a wonderful job for their leadership of the party, and thanking Mr. President, for supporting them to deliver on their mandate, I also explained that the Progressive Governors Forum discussed the issue of national convention of the party. “They mandated us to come and discuss with the President, as party leader, to give the inputs of the Governors so that the party and the President will agree on a date for the national convention”.
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“Yesterday, part of the inputs we got was that we still have four states which are in the process of completing their congresses; Anambra, understandably, because of the election, Zamfara and two others, that because of logistic challenges are yet to complete, and then Christmas is around the corner, and then early January we’ll be very busy with Ekiti.
“So, the governors, based on all that, made an input that we think the party and the President might graciously consider February and President is favourably disposed and I’m sure the party, because the chair of the caretaker committee was part of the delegation he heard that and I’m sure they will conclude between him and the President.
But we have made the input of the governors known. It was favourably considered by Mr. President”.
Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the party, Mai Mala Buni however dismissed speculations that he is deliberately trying to keep.himself in office for more than necessary.
“Am I a jobless person, who is always trying to extend his tenure? To do what? “I have my primary responsibility as a governor to go back to my state and carryout my primary responsibility. What I’m here to do is ad-hoc, and of course, toreposition the party, and that is exactly what we’re able to achieve”.
( Editor, Omor Bazuaye)
