APC national leadership rules out rezoning of party positions

All Progressives Congress (APC) governors under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum have resolved to retain the party’s current zoning of leadership in the party, ruling out any move to rezone key positions. The decision was reached in the early hours of Monday after a meeting that ended at about 1:45 a.m. in Lagos. […]

All Progressives Congress (APC) governors under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum have resolved to retain the party’s current zoning of leadership in the party, ruling out any move to rezone key positions.

The decision was reached in the early hours of Monday after a meeting that ended at about 1:45 a.m. in Lagos.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said the governors agreed that there was no justification for altering the party’s leadership structure while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains in office.

Our correspondents however observed there are complaints among aspirants contesting for various positions in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC ahead the party’s national convention.

The convention is scheduled to take place on March 27 and 28 in Abuja. To ensure a successful exercise, the party has already inaugurated several committees, including those responsible for the screening of candidates.

However, many party stalwarts—particularly those intending to contest—have criticized the party’s zoning arrangement, arguing that it has unfairly disqualified many from the race.

Reports suggest that while several current NWC members are pushing for re-election, other members seeking to join the committee are demanding an open and transparent contest.

 

Several aspirants have decried what they described as “systematic” efforts to prevent them from expressing interest in NWC membership through the zoning arrangement. One such aspirant, Oyiborume Paul Yovwe, who is seeking the office of National Secretary, lamented being denied the nomination form.

 

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Yovwe said he followed the official procedure for obtaining the form—which costs ₦7.5 million—after the party published its guidelines. He proceeded to the bank to make the payment but alleged that the party’s financial department refused to convert his bank teller into an official receipt.

 

He described the development as unfair, questioning how a serving party official could be guaranteed a position without an open contest.