EXCLUSIVE: APC governors clash with national chairman over convention’s election management committee

All Progressives Congress (APC) governors are set to move against the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu over the choice of the chairman of the convention election management committee.

In the list of convention planning committees released by the party, Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, was listed as the Chairman of the Convention Election Management Committee while his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma was made the co-chairman.

WesternPost gathered that while inaugurating the various committees for the convention on Sunday, the national chairman inaugurated all the standing committees except the election management committee because he prefers Uzodinma as the chairman instead of Bagudu that was named originally as the chairman.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that the 21 APC governors are not having what they considered the subterfuge of Adamu and his ill-motivated intention to unilaterally change the headship of a committee that was already approved by the National Working Committee and made public.

Our source within the leadership of the party revealed that Adamu was still working with those who want to manipulate the convention to achieve their personal agenda of foisting the Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan as the presidential candidate of APC despite the fact that 11 Northern APC governors have endorsed power shift to the South come 2023, while Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Badaru, has formally withdrawn from the presidential race.

According to the statement signed by the Northern governors, Lawan, former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Yerima, and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, have not formally withdrawn from the contest.

To avoid plunging the party into fresh crisis that can jeopardise the convention, the APC governors have told the national chairman that Bagudu must be inaugurated as the chairman of the election management committee to have a hitch-free convention according to our source.

“Adamu is part of the grand scheme to retain the presidency in the North in APC after President Buhari’s tenure. They are working to make the Senate President the presidential candidate even when they know he does not have the clout and political capital to win an election against the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“They want to use Hope Uzodinma to manipulate the convention in case it goes into delegates voting to determine the presidential candidate of APC. Uzodinma has been promised to be made the running mate of Lawan. These people are not relenting in their plot.

“The governors have insisted on Kebbi State Governor and they are not backing off,” the source revealed.