New Telegraph

APC Crisis: Presidency re-strategises, soft-pedals on Buni

After the tense atmosphere created by the widely reported sacking of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker Extra- Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, the power brokers within the ruling party appear to have soft pedalled and resolved to allow Buni lead the party to its National Convention, slated for March 26.

 

The coup plotted to oust Buni had almost succeeded but for the surprise response from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which rejected

 

the invitation sent to it to monitor the party’s National Convention. Apparently reading the handwriting on the wall and the body language of President Muhammadu many of the governors have been regrouping behind Buni, even though only six of them, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, were against him initially.

 

Seven Governors had been neutral, while another nine were strongly pro- Buni. New Telegraph learnt from highly placed sources that President Buhari’s statement on Saturday seeking a truce was a tactical retreat triggered by the apprehensions over a possible implosion in the party if it threw Buni under the bus at such a critical hour.

 

A cursory glance at the statement showed that Buhari was not backing any candidate for the party’s chairmanship and would not prevent any interested person from running for the office of the President in 2023. A source familiar with the operations of the kitchen cabinet around the President said Buhari had to step in before things got out of hand. “He said categorically that what the 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. Before that point, the Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, had taken over affairs at the APC National Headquarters, announcing himself as the replacement of Buni who had headed 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 National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected a letter inviting it to an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the governing party where Bello’s chairmanship is to be approved.

 

This amongst other issues led some inner caucus in the Presidency to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently undergoing a medical routine check-up in the United  Kingdom. Led by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the group of ministers included the ministers of education and aviation, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Hadi Sirika respectively.

 

A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Faruq Adamu was also on the delegation. They’re believed to be the most powerful clique around the President from the days of the defunct Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC).

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