The Mai Mala Buni-led All Progressives Congress Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee will before the end of this week visit the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, The PUNCH has learnt.
It was gathered that this was part of the decisions taken during the inaugural meeting of the committee held at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, on Monday. The meeting, which started at 1.02pm ended at 3.16pm.
It was learnt that the visit, which had been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, was meant to reassure the APC national leader that the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee was not targeted at him.
The APC National Executive Committee had, at its meeting attended by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Thursday sacked the party’s NWC loyal to the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, whose suspension was upheld by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on June 16.
Following Oshiomhole’s suspension on June 16, the APC was divided into two factions with one led by its suspended Deputy National Secretary, Victor Giadom, and the other consisting of 18 NWC members, who were loyal to the national chairman.
Buhari declared support for Giadom and attended the Thursday meeting, which he convened.
Many analysts had interpreted Buhari’s support for Giadom and the sack of the NWC loyal to Oshiomhole, as the President’s deft move against Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
But the Presidency, in a statement on Saturday dismissed reports that Buhari and Tinubu had fallen apart following the dissolution of the NWC.
Also, Tinubu, in a statement on Saturday, supported the dissolution of the NWC at the instance of the President during the NEC meeting. Buhari, Tinubu said, acted like a true father to save the party from disintegration.
An APC chieftain, who confided in our correspondent, said at their meeting on Monday, the party caretaker committee members agreed to visit Tinubu to seek his support.
The source said, “It was agreed that the committee should go and meet our national leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to pacify and assure him that the dissolution of the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee of our great party was not targeted at him. He is one of our most revered leaders. We recognise and appreciate his enormous contributions to this party. We plan to visit him tomorrow (Tuesday). If the visit does not take place tomorrow, it will take place before the end of the week.”
It was also gathered that the committee decided to focus on reconciling aggrieved members, the formation of a campaign council for the Edo governorship election and preparations towards peaceful conduct of the primary for Ondo State.
Earlier, the Head of the APC Legal Department, Dare Oketade, administered oaths of office and allegiance to members of the committee. (Punch)
