The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is assembling a meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on July 3, today.
President Muhammadu Buhari, his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, all APC governors, the National Assembly leadership and a cross section of Senators and members of the House of Reps are expected to be present.
UPDATE: Buhari during the meeting advises APC members not waste the party’s electoral success and place national interest above self-interest.
He said: “The elections have come and gone and the APC has won the battle and lost the war, this is the paradox of democracy and we can see how we are going to manage it.
“I have a worthy appeal to you, the chairman, to you the leadership of the party, to you the senators and members of the house of representatives and to you the governors that the APC must not disappoint our constituencies and the nation state.
“What ever your personal interests, put them in your pocket. Let APC work. Let the system work. I appeal to you to accept the superiority of the party. I cannot confine myself in Sambisa forest and refuse to participate in the meeting because I respect the superiority of the party.”
“We thank God in four years we have to convince our constituencies that we are individually worthy of the sacrifices they have made, we have stayed awake days and nights, travelling around to make sure that the party emerge victorious. What subsequently happen is human, and as human beings, we are not perfect but let our collective action in this party rules because we have won the election and we will eventually win the war.”
Ahmed Lawan arriving for the NEC meeting
National leader of the ruling APC Bola Tinubu and Adebisi Akande shun crucial NEC meeting.
The crisis rocking the party since the election of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dorgara as Senate President and the Speaker of House correspondingly is the main question of the meeting.
Both were voted to the two offices against the wishes of the APC.
The governors elected under the party’s platform had also met last night to take a joint position for today’s discussion.
They also met with Nigeria’s leader last week and begged him to interfere into the crisis.
Senate Leader Ali Ndume and Femi Gbajabiamila arriving for the meeting
Already, Dogara, his deputy, Suleiman Lasun and governors of Yobe, Plateau and Ogun have arrived, while the deputy governors of Nasarawa, Borno and Bauchi are also around.
However, the road leading to the national secretariat, venue of the meeting has been cordoned off by a combined team of Army, Police and the Department of Security Service.
Upon his arrival, Buhari is expected to take a military salute at the outer entrance of the secretariat building proceeding to the hall. The meeting, meanwhile, is expected to be stormy and decisive as matters confronting the party are so weighty.
The crisis rocking the party may simply get worse during and after its much anticipated meeting, as all indications point to probable tough exchanges between different interest groups within the party, in what has been defined as political fireworks, which could lead to a stalemate.
This is fuelled by the belief that some ex- governors, who are members of the APC, and a group of Northern stakeholders in the party have resolved to defend the elections of both Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.
This is the first NEC meeting of the governing party since Buhari took the oath of office on May 29.
