The National Working Committee of All Progressives Congress, APC, under the leadership of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, is set to inaugurate the new officers that will replace the outgoing National Deputy Chairman for North, Senator Abubakar Kyari and National Women Leader, Dr Betta Edu on Wednesday, August 23.
The duo is among the 45 ministers-designate of President Bola Tinubu who will officially take their oath of office at the presidential villa today.
The development is coming two weeks after Ganduje and Spokesperson for the ninth Senate, Senator Ajibola Basiru, were elected by the National Executive Committee as the new national chairman and secretary of the APC at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
“We heard Ganduje and the NWC members is set to deliberate on the new officers to fill up the vacant offices in their meeting for Wednesday,” a source at the secretariat said.
The move to begin preparation for the swearing in of new officers became necessary after the ruling party received list of nominations from state party chapters in line with the mandate given to the NWC at the last NEC meeting.
Aside from the slots of Kyari and Edu who will be departing for Tinubu’s cabinet, the positions of former National Vice Chairman for North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman and National Legal Adviser, Ahmad El-Marzuq who recently quit the party are up for grabs.
Other vacant positions include Deputy National Publicity Secretary, formerly occupied by Murtala Ajaka, who is running for the office of Kogi governor on the platform of Social Democratic Party and National Welfare Officer, which was previously occupied by the late Friday Nwosu.
The new officers recommended by the State APC chapters awaiting NEC ratifications are former Cross River State Commissioner for Local Government, Dr. Stella Odey-Ekpo (Women Leader); Borno party chairman, Ali Dalori (Deputy National Chairman for North); ex-Nasarawa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Abdulkarim Kana (Legal Adviser), former Abia State House of Assembly Speaker Martins Azubuike (Welfare Officer) and ex-Special Adviser on Water Resources to Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Ismail (Deputy National Publicity Secretary).
But the source noted that, “Although the name of the replacement for Lukman has not been officially sent, we were told Kaduna APC Chairman, Commodore Emmanual Jekada (retd), is their choice to emerge as the next National Vice Chairman for North-West.
“I can also tell you for free that these are proposed names. But nothing is cast in stone. For now, the names are yet to get the nod of the NWC. We have not yet discussed them nor submit it to NEC as a body”.
Efforts to reach the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, proved abortive.
But the National Deputy Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, confirmed that the date for the inauguration of the new officers did not come up for deliberation at the last meeting.
“Perhaps, it might be discussed when the next meeting comes up next week,” he said.
