Protest stall inauguration of APC NWC members

Protest by Kogi State governor Yayaha Bello, Senator Florence Ita Giwa and Cross River State women on Thursday forced the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to postpone the inauguration of six new members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

The party on Wednesday announced the approved names of the six officers to fill the vacant positions in the NWC.

National Secretary of the party, Senator Ajibola Basiru after the weekly NWC meeting named Ali Bukar Dalori as the new Deputy Chairman (North), the founder of Sister-To-Sister Empowerment Worldwide, Dr Mary Alile Idele from Edo State was elected as the National Women Leader.

Other elected officers included Garba Datti Muhammad, National Vice Chairman (North West); National Legal Adviser, Prof. AbdulKarim Abubakar Kana; National Welfare Secretary, Donatus Nwankpa; Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko and Zonal Organising Secretary, Ikani Shuaibu Okolo.

This was in line with the directive of the party’s highest policy making organ, the National Executive Committee (NEC) that ceded its power to NWC at its August 3rd meeting.

The committee also fixed the inauguration of the new members for Thursday by 2 pm at the party secretariat.

Irked by the development and name of the persons approved for the positions of Deputy National Publicity Secretary and the Zonal Organising officer (North Central), Governor Bello stormed the National Secretariat of the party on Thursday to protest against the two officers approved.

The governor who waited for over seven hours to lodge his complaints to the National Chairman was forced to take his grievances to Ganduje in his residence in Asokoro when the latter failed to show up in the office.

In the same vein some aggrieved women from Cross River state staged a protest to the national headquarters, demanding that the position of the party’s women leader in the NWC be given to the state.

Armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as; “APC National women leader is Cross River quota”, “Cross River quota cannot be stolen”, “Cross River state is the only APC state in south south Nigeria”, “We don’t need abroad based women leader, it is Cross River we know”, “We say no to day light robbery, Cross River state we stand”‘ the women invaded the party at about 10:30 am but were barred by armed policemen.

Speaking to journalists, the leader of the protesters Hon. Bukkie Okangbe insisted that the position belongs to Cross River state and vowed that the people of the State will resist any attempt by the party to short change the state.

“The reason we are protesting here today is very clear. It is about the position of the national women leader that Betta Edu left and by the grace of God, she is now the Minister for Humanitarian Affair.

“According to the party constitution, we are supposed to continue with the slot because it is an elective post. Right now, we don’t know what is happening in the party. Feelers have it that they have chosen somebody else to from another state to replace our nominee. So we are here to pass a message that our people from Cross River cannot be intimidated.

“As you know, Cross River is arguably the only APC state in the South South and one of the states that delivered Asiwaju. We are therefore pleading with the party to do the right thing. If they have to replace anybody, it has to be from Cross River. As we speak, there are so many women that are on their way to Abuja to continue the protest. So we don’t want anything to come between the Renewed Hope government and Cross River.”

Forced by the various protests’ despite spirited efforts to conduct the inauguration the NWC was forced to postpone it indefinitely.