The Concerned APC group has on Sunday said that former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Kalu, was not a member of the party when it was formed and therefore has no say on if the party’s convention slated for February 2022 should hold or not.
This is as the group warned that the Leadership of the governing party must do everything to hold the party’s national convention.
Spokesperson of the Concerned APC group, Abdullahi Little, disclosed this on Sunday in a statement titled ‘APC Convention: stakeholders warn Buni against postponement’.
Reacting to a letter credited to the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, where he urged the National Chairman Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni, and members of the planning committee to consider postponing the party’s national convention earlier scheduled to hold in February next year, the group said of Kalu, “He has PDP to fall back to if the court gives judgement against the actions of Buni-led caretaker in the future while we don’t have where to go because APC is all we have. Therefore, other caretaker members should rise and save the party before is too late.
“It is our hope and belief that the Caretaker Committee will not employ any delay tactics that will result in the need to further postpone the national convention from the February 2022 date as it has done in the past where its six months mandate was extended to almost one and half year.”
According to the group, the major, if not the only, task before the Caretaker Committee as of today is the conduct of the national convention and this must be pursued with all vigour and seriousness it deserves.
While the release of the full timetable for the national convention is being awaited, the Concerned APC Stakeholders reiterated their earlier position that the upcoming national convention must not only be free, fair and transparent but must be seen to be so by all party men and women.
“The Concerned APC, in its avowed commitment to ensuring that our party is returned to its core progressive ideals and foundation, will continue to watch the processes leading to the convention closely and ensure that only individuals with requisite pedigree emerged as new leaders of the APC,” the statement read.
As the Caretaker Committee meets on Monday, the group appealed to committee members to resist further temptation to postpone the National convention in the interest of larger party members.
They equally appeal to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to “call the caretaker to order before is too late.”