APC convention: South-South demands National Secretary position

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), slated for February 26, party stakeholders from the south-south have demanded the position of National Secretary.

The stakeholders are also of the view that former National Working Committee (NWC) members should not be re-elected as national officers of the party.

Already, the South-East APC members are already campaigning for the position of the APC National Secretary, including Mr Jerry Ugokwe and Hon. Chidi Duru, both from Anambra State while the former National Organizing Secretary of APC, Senator Osita Izunaso, is said to have indicated an interest in the same position.

It was based on this that the stakeholders appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the party to consider the south-south for the APC National Secretary position.

Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders on Wednesday in Abuja, Hon. Abel Akpan from Cross River State said the region should be allowed to hold such a position for a ruling party, saying it would help in consolidating the party in the zone.

He said: “We south-south stakeholders from APC are demanding that the position of the National Secretary should be zoned to us. Our brothers from the southeast had held the position of National Secretary of a ruling party in the past and are still holding the same position in the PDP.

“Yes, we know that we held that position of the National Chairman but we were not allowed to complete our tenure in that office. We appeal to the President, Muhammadu Buhari and other party leaders to consider it progressive to zone the National Secretary to the south-south.”

According to them, those that served before should be let go just like what happened in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where no former NWC member was elected into the working committee.