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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
There is fresh anxiety in the All Progressives Congress (APC) following failure to screen aspirants for the zonal and national leadership positions few day to the March 26 proposed national convention.
The exercise earlier billed for Saturday and yesterday, according to timetable and schedule of activities released by the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), failed to hold as members of the Screening Committee were absent at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, venue of the exercise.
While zonal aspirants were to be screened on Saturday, candidates to occupy the position of the National Working Committee (NWC) would have appeared before the screening Committee yesterday. At the venue last night, Daily Sun gathered from a staff of the hotel that some members of the committee had showed up and announced that the exercise had been postponed till tomorrow.
However, a member of the national leadership of the party disclosed that members of the screening committee would be divided and sub-divided to handle the six zones where the aspirants come from for both zonal and national leadership positions.
“The committee members are more than four. They gave the chairmen a full list of those that will be in their committee. The committee members will now be sub-divided into six zones to handle each zone. Each zone will now be divided into three sub-unit. Each six zones will be sub-divided again into three. Unit A will handle NWC, Unit B will handle Non- NWC, Unit C will handle zonal officers so that they can finish their job in one day and present their report to the Appeal committee,” the source cleared.
Reacting to the development, an aspirant for national chairmanship position and former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, expressed concerns and disappointment over the poor implementation of pre-convention programme.
Speaking through his Director General Campaign Organisation, Dominic Alancha, he lamented that the aspirants were yet to receive any official information from the party on when to appear before the committee.
On speculations that the party leaders were planning to raise a unity list, he said: “Well, for a party that is democratic, I think even if you want to do a unity release, critical stakeholders must be carried along. In a situation where these critical stakeholders are not even aware of what is happening concerning unity list, I don’t know how you will achieve that, especially as the aspirants have purchased their forms. They cannot be doing their mobilisation and then you are talking of unity list without carrying them along or carrying people along. I doubt if there will be anything like unity list.”
The party has raked in N140 million from seven aspirants jostling for the national chairmanship.
Meanwhile, South East stakeholders of the party have finally resolved the teething micro-zoning arrangement hurdle facing the geopolitical zone, as it has reserved the highest national position of the party for the zone to Enugu State.
In the statement announcing the comprehensive micro-zoning arrangements, by Hope Uzodimma, Dave Umahi, governors of Imo and Ebonyi states, respectively, Sen Ken Nnamani and Nkem Okeke, former Senate president and former deputy governor Anambra State respectively, the stakeholders also reserved the position of national vice chairman (South East) and zonal special leader (Persons with Disabilities –PWD) to Imo State while Ebonyi takes the national treasurer and zonal secretary. The national welfare secretary and zonal youth leader are reserved for Abia State while Anambra takes deputy national organising secretary, zonal organising secretary and national ex-officio member and zonal women leader go to Enugu.
