El-rufa’i: Why APC governors were divided on the National Convention

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufa’i, explained on Tuesday why governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were divided on the timing of the ruling party’s National Convention.

El-Rufai said this after the governors of the Progressive Governors Forum met with President Muhammadu Buhari to brief him on the pending issues before the convention.

The event was scheduled for this Saturday until the Party’s Surveillance and Organizing Committee for Extraordinary Conventions (CECPC) announced the postponement to March 26 on Monday.

The committee released a new schedule and schedule of activities for the National Convention and Zonal Congresses in its statement Monday.

According to the new schedule, the activities of the national convention will begin on February 24, with the publication of the commissions for the zonal congresses.

The sale of forms to candidates for elective positions will begin on Wednesday, March 9 and will end on Friday, March 11.

Meeting with Buhari

Following the meeting with the president on Tuesday, El-rufa’i acknowledged that the planned convention divided APC governors.

“Yes, we were divided. We were divided on the timing of the convention. Well, there were some governors who felt that we should postpone the convention until we resolve all the congressional issues in some states. As you know, there are problems in some states. So some governors were of the opinion that we should wait until this is all sorted out,” he told House correspondents.

But the governor said the disagreement “didn’t stem from any agenda or selfishness.

“It is just a realistic proposal to prevent us from breaking any laws or endangering our party structures of elected candidates.

“So yes, there were (there were) differences of opinion about the timing. Some of us say that the Constitution allows us to have a convention even if three or four states have unresolved issues, while others say no, let’s finish all the reconciliations and have this convention.

“After all, there is no time limit on the convention as long as we do it before the primary. So that was the difference. It is what the media have called divided governors.

‘In a democratic environment, there is no way that 22 governors plus the deputy governor of Anambra state will agree on any issue. We can have differences.

“But after our meeting last night, to deliberate on the national interim committee proposal, and our briefing with Mr. President today, we are all on the same page.

“We have agreed on a zoning formula for the six geopolitical zones and essentially swapped, the northern zones will take the positions that the southern zones have held for the last eight years and vice versa. A very simple, equitable and fair formula.

“Now we will go back and consult at the zonal level, and we will see the available positions and the process of preparing the convention will begin in earnest. So by the grace of God on March 26 we will have held a National Convention.

“Whether we (do) a zonal convention before that, or do it at the same time, again, the constitution is silent. So, as our president said, we can decide either way,” the Kaduna governor said.