WHILE ripples over the purported removal of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State rage, most of his colleagues have reportedly regrouped behind him to midwife the March 26 convention of the ruling party, the Nigerian Tribune learnt on Sunday.
This is coming as top inside sources said President Muhammadu Buhari is insisting that Buni would oversee the intraparty exercise for the election of new substantive national executive committee members of the APC on March 26.
It was gathered that ostensibly, reading the lip of the president, many of the governors are back with Buni, even with feelers showed that only six of them, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, were reportedly against him initially.
According to the source, seven governors had been neutral, while another nine were strongly pro-Buni.
Going by the statement of the president on Saturday, main stakeholders in the APC said it clear that Buhari was not backing any candidate for the APC chairmanship and would not prevent any interested party member from running for the presidency in 2023.
The president said declared that what the party leaders should focus on is who becomes the next president and not who becomes the chairman, noting that whoever emerges chairman would not have any effect on aspirants.
“None of the declared aspirants and any of those that may step forward will change because of who may be in the party in the chairman’s seat. It is essentially the same party,” the President had said.
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Niger State governor, Sani Bello, took over affairs at the APC national headquarters, announcing himself as the replacement of Buni who had headed the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), since 2020.
This unsettling development had caused rivalry amongst APC governors and top stakeholders as many accused the Yobe Governor of plotting against the organisation of the convention and declared support for Bello.
But while some quarters had rejoiced about the supposed ousting of Buni, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected a letter inviting it to an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling party where Bello’s chairmanship is to be approved.
This among other issues led some inner caucus in the presidency to meet with Buhari, who is currently undergoing a medical routine checkup in the United Kingdom.
Led by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the group of ministers included the ministers of Education and Aviation, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Hadi Sirika respectively, just as a former member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Faruq Adamu was also on the delegation.
They are believed to be the most powerful clique around the president from the days of the defunct Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC), one of the four legacy parties that metamorphosed into the APC in 2013.
Buhari was said to have refuted insinuations that he asked anyone to remove Buni, insisting that he be allowed to conduct the APC convention as originally planned.
“The president, after he was properly briefed by his powerful associates, gave a matching order for Buni to immediately resume the leadership of the ruling party and see to the smooth conclusion of the national convention”, a source who craved anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the outcome of the meeting informed this newspaper.
A source privy to the details of the meeting told our correspondent that the president strongly denied endorsing a former Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Adamu, for the APC national chairman.
According to the source, while the discussion of the helmsman and his close confidants centred on the internal wrangling in the APC and the upcoming March 26 convention, it also tilted towards who will succeed Adams Oshiomhole as the party chairman among the current contestants.
The source claimed that the ministers specifically asked if the president was truly supporting Adamu, as widely reported in various media platforms a few weeks ago. The president was said to have denied knowledge of such endorsement and instead, reportedly told the delegation of his desire to see to a smooth, democratic and popular contest that would lead to the birth of a new National Executive Committees (NEC) of the party.
The president was therefore advised of the danger in keeping silent over such a piece of ‘fake’ news that has the potential of imploding the party.
This, the source said, necessitated the statement issued on Saturday by the presidency, which called for caution and decorum among the political class.
It is believed that the president, on return, would categorically dispel the rumoured endorsement on return from his trip. In the same vein, one of the ministers was said to have posited that it would be a major blow and act of betrayal against candidates Saliu Mustapha and Senator Tanko Al-Makura, who, in the face of overwhelming temptations, remains loyal to the CPC structure from as far back as 2010 till date.
“Mustapha, for example, has been with us since the days of the TBO (The Buhari Organisation). He rose through the ranks to become the National Deputy Chairman of the defunct CPC. We know him, we know his capability and we can trust him enough to navigate the party through the stormy waters.”
Al-Makura on the other hand was said to be the lone CPC governor while the party existed.
“Neither of them failed or faltered since then. So, how do you morally explain a purported endorsement of someone that we hardly know within our ranks, someone that does not enjoy popular support?” the source asked rhetorically.
The delegation was also said to have warned of the consequences of the purported endorsement of Adamu on the party chapter in Nasarawa.
They allegedly predicted an implosion that may affect both Governor A.A. Sule and Senator Al-Makura. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain who the President will pitch his tent with based on the recent meeting with his inner caucus but the lot is likely to fall on either of two of the candidates.
It is believed that the president will make a final take as soon as he returns from his medical trip
and then