APC summons govs over Buhari’s health, convention

ABUJA— THE All Progressives Congress, APC, has summoned its 23 state governors for a crucial meeting today to discuss the state of the nation as well as its forthcoming non-elective national convention slated for April 29. Vanguard gathered that the urgent meeting is meant to discuss growing concerns about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as issues surrounding the party’s national convention. A top-level source at the party’s secretariat in Abuja confirmed that some of the governors are not pleased with the fact that they could not visit the president. He said:  “You would also have observed how the President’s handlers have effectively fenced out the national leadership of the party from visiting him.

‘’In fact, it took some level of pressure to even get the national chairman present during one of those telephone conversations between the acting President and President Buhari.” Ahead of the convention, the party is supposed to convene a National Executive Council, NEC, meeting but the absence of the President is said to have divided party leaders. While some want the party leadership to wait for the President’s return, others say it should not be a big deal having Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, preside over the NEC meeting. The meeting would also seek the buy-in of the governors, many of who appear disinterested in the forthcoming national convention of the party because of its non-elective nature. According to a source, “if the convention was designed to be an elective one, someone like Governor Ganduje of Kano State may want to ease out the national treasurer of the party, who is a known Kwankwaso loyalist. “No doubt, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State may want a replacement for the North West vice chairman of the party, Mallam Inuwa Abdulkadir, and the list goes on.” ‘’But because the convention is non-elective, it is natural for anyone to feel that there is nothing at stake for now, hence the seeming lack of interest,” the source explained. Vanguard learned that the meeting might also broach the issue of power equation in the event that the President becomes interminably indisposed. Already, the NEC meeting hall at the APC secretariat has been arranged for the meeting.