The decision of the All Progressives Congress(APC) to hold Adhoc delegates’ Congress on Tuesday, 7 February, 2023 has thrown the party into disarray.
The National Secretariat of the APC had Friday, 3 February, 2023 announced the composition of the Electoral Panel headed by one Lawan Samaila Abdullahi to conduct the primary election to pick adhoc delegates that will vote to elect a gubernatorial candidate for the party during the Saturday, 8 April, 2023 governorship primary election.
But the decision has not gone down well with some members of the party who wondered why the party would pick this time when campaigns for the various offices at the state and national levels are in top gear for such an exercise.
A chieftain of the party from Okene, Alhaji Ahmed Oiza who fumed at the decision told journalists in Lokoja that those behind the decision do not mean well for the party.
“Why the haste to elect adhoc delegates? We still have until late March to do the Congress so why must we be distracted from the campaigns going on at the moment. Even our party’s constitution is very clear on the time frame within which to conduct adhoc delegates congresses. Let me ask a pertinent question, gentlemen of the press. Why are Imo and Bayelsa States not also holding their congresses on the same February 7? Why Kogi? Why distract us?”, he declared.
Already, media reports have indicated that different groups in the party are already warming up for protests to the National Headquarters of the party in Abuja beginning from Monday, 6 February, 2023 on the need to move the congress till March so as to allow members concentrate especially on the presidential campaign going on across the country.
Alhaji Oiza summed up the situation this way:
“This is simply a political ambush aimed at favouring a particular candidate and must be resisted by all concerned “.
