APC Convention: South-West Governors Reject Buhari’s Cronies As Secretary, Vice-chair

Ahead of the March 26, 2022 national Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the internal bickering amongst members of the different political parties and blocs that formed the ruling Party is beginning to manifest.

Already, some favoured members of the Congress for Progressive Change bloc in the APC allegedly endorsed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the position of National Secretary and National Vice Chairman are facing stiff opposition from governor of the Southwest geopolitical zone on the platform of the ruling Party. The governors have vowed not to allow external forces to determine positions zoned to the Southwest.

Accordingly, the governors have rejected members of the defunct CPC bloc who were with President Muhammadu Buhari before its merger with the Action Congress of Nigeria and part of APGA to form the APC in 2013 before the 2015 presidential election.

Those hit by the rejection of the Southwest governors is the former Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, who is vying for the position of National Secretary of the APC and an Executive Director with the Niger Delta Power Holding, Mr Ife Oyedele.

The governors are instead routing for Senator Iyiola Omisore for the position of National Secretary of the party just as they are tipping Mr Dayo Israel for the position of National Youth Leader of the APC.

It was gathered that the unity list of the South-West governors would be released in the coming days as a way of showing their rejection for those endorsed by President Buhari.

It was further gathered that the Southwest governors are in unison to resist what they described as deliberate attempt to impose some of the defunct CPC members on the South-West zone without consideration of the governors.

Giving insight to the position of the Southwest governors, the Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, said that members of Forum resolved on micro-zoning the positions of the party zoned to the Southwest, stressing that those scheming from outside the region were only trying to cause confusion.

Akeredolu, who stated this in a statement titled, “External forces trying to impose persons on South-West,” declared that a former Chairman of the APC in the state, Isaac Kekemeke, had been endorsed for the position of the National Vice Chairman for the Southwest geopolitical zone.

Akeredolu statement which was issued by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, stressed that all the governors of the Southwest have endorsed Kekemeke.

He further said; “This is to confirm that one of our own, the former APC state chairman, Duerimini Isaac Kekemeke, is in the race for the position of the National Vice-Chairman (South-West).

“Kekemeke has the full backing of Governor Akeredolu and his brother governors in the South-West. It should be noted that critical stakeholders in the South-West had earlier micro-zoned the positions that were brought to the region. Among these were the National Vice-chairman which was retained in Ondo, and the National Secretary which was micro-zoned to the Oyo/Osun axis.

“For emphasis, what we are going for is National Vice-chairman with Kekemeke as our candidate, and not National Secretary.

“Those outside the South-West, who are attempting to micro-zone our offices for us in the South-West, are only creating unnecessary confusion and any such of their permutations outside the decision of stakeholders in the South-West should be ignored,” he said.