The forum of All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirants for national convention, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the National Convention of the party slated for March 26 by the Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
The APC aspirants, in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, jointly signed by the forum’s President and Secretary, Chief Tolulope Ashafa, and Alhaji Usman Adamu, insisted that going on with the convention will lead to an internal crisis in the party, calling on the President to, as a matter of urgency, halt the convention.
The letter reads in part: “Nigerians were elated when Your Excellency assented to the Electoral Act 2022. In the recent political history of Nigeria, there have been very few other developments that united Nigerians across the political, ethnic, and sectarian spectrum as the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 into law did.
“APC has just three (3) months to hold the national convention and conduct primaries to submit the list of candidates to INEC. The party cannot hold two national conventions within 90 days. The waste of resources and dissipation of energy would be simply too much.
“The raging crises and contentions in the party, which have been significantly managed by the CECPC, would flare up again such that APC would turn against itself in the 2023 General Elections. This is another outcome the opposition is basing its hope upon as it expects to absorb those that would be angered to defect from the APC.
“The National Convention should rather be scheduled for a time that allowed the 30-Day notice to INEC. The date for the National Convention should be scheduled such that it doubles as the presidential primary of the APC, which would bring down costs in line with the desire of Nigerians to reduce the cost of electioneering.
“The CECPC must halt existing plans for the national convention and come up with a new template that combines the National Convention with the presidential primary while focusing on preparations for other primary elections. Your Excellency, in your capacity as the leader of the party, your prayer is that you direct the party and CECPC to halt the national convention and focus on our party primaries.”