The quest by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to restore normalcy to its fold has hit a brick wall as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated that it had not received communication from the party’s chairman, Mai Mala Buni handing over to the Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello as speculated by some members of the Party.
Recall that Bello had on Monday taken over the party’s affairs following President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged order to sack of Buni.
Buni had been in charge of the affairs of the party since June 2020 when the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) was sacked.
On Wednesday, Bello wrote the INEC in his capacity as the acting national chairman of the APC’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), inviting it to the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for next week Thursday via zoom.
However, almost immediately, the commission replied the ruling party, maintaining that it was not aware of leadership change and that only the duo of Buni and the secretary of the CECPC, Sen John James Akpanudoedehe, could relate to the commission on behalf of the party.
The commission, via a letter dated March 9, signed by the secretary, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, advised the ruling party to follow due process.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the latest development worsened the confusion in the ruling party, and to address the situation, some top shots of the party came up with the idea of the handover letter allegedly written by Buni.
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In the said letter, Buni allegedly directed Governor Bello to act in his absence as the chairman of the CECPC because he would be away for a medical trip to Dubai.
The letter was purportedly copied the INEC and all members of the CECPC. However, Governor Bello denied receiving any letter from the embattled Governor Buni.
INEC’s national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, said, ‘We did not receive any formal letter from the National Chairman of APC transferring power or duties.
‘All registered political parties are obligated to comply with the provisions of the constitution, the Electoral Act and the Regulations and Guidelines of the Commission.
‘We asked the Party to note the issues raised in our letter for compliance.’
He told newsmen on Saturday that registered political parties have a known and formal way they communicate to the commission.
According to him, Article 1.1.3 of INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Political Party Operations (2018) provides that ‘the national chairman and national secretary of the party shall sign the notice of meetings, conventions or congresses and submit same to the commission’.
Okoye said the commission had in its docket, the specimen signatures of national chairmen and secretaries of all the registered political parties in Nigeria.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
