ABUJA: The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has finalized preparations for its National Convention scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with 8,453 delegates expected to converge on the Federal Capital Territory FCT to elect a new National Working Committee NWC.
Chairman of the National Convention Central Coordination Committee, Aminu Bello Masari, and the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Thursday during a briefing in Abuja.
The officials addressed key concerns regarding the party’s budget, security for traveling delegates, and the controversial use of consensus and zoning to fill party offices.
Defending the party’s decision to restrict certain offices to specific geopolitical zones, Masari described the move as a “strategic necessity” to ensure national balance and party stability.
He warned that individuals attempting to purchase forms for offices not zoned to their regions were likely “agents of confusion.”
“APC is a responsible party. In line with federal character, all offices are zoned. If you are contesting for an office that is not zoned to your zone, how can you say you are being democratic? We suspect these kinds of people are interested in destroying our party, which we will not agree to”, he declared.
Responding to rumors of potential litigation over the zoning formula, the former Katsina governor noted that the party had not been served any court processes. “If we are served, we will take notice of that. You can only hold something that you have,” he added.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, provided a breakdown of the expected participants, confirming that the 8,453 delegates would be drawn from the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT.
Addressing questions regarding the convention’s total cost, Idris explained that the party is utilizing a “self-adjusting” budgetary mechanism to manage resources effectively.
He dismissed concerns about the budget for the convention, saying the party was still working on an adjustable budget.
“Our budget has a self-adjusting mechanism to accommodate what we have. Nobody is being owed as far as this convention is concerned, and we don’t intend to owe anybody after the convention,” the minister emphasized.
On the safety of delegates traveling from across the country, Idris maintained that the administration of President Bola Tinubu remains committed to revamping national infrastructure and ensuring secure passage for all citizens.
“Members of the committee have traveled thus far and we have not recorded any incidence. By God’s grace, we will not record any throughout this convention and beyond,” Idris said.