…dissolves state, zonal, national party structures
Former All Progressives Congress’ National Vice Chairman, South-south, Ntufam Hilliard Eta, has been expelled by the APC National Executive Committee.
APC NEC, on Tuesday, also dissolved all its state, zonal, and national party structures.
But the ruling party extended the tenure of its caretaker extraordinary convention planning committee led by Governor Mai Buni by six months.
APC took these decisions at a meeting of the committee attended by President Muhammadu Buhari; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and other party chiefs.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who addressed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, said the party also approved the expulsion of Eta for his failure to withdraw the court case instituted against the caretaker committee.
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier asked the leaders of APC to respect party decisions.
The President said this in his opening remarks at the ongoing meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari said, “I want to appeal to all our party members and leaders at all levels, to try and make the required sacrifices so that we are able to collectively restore our progressive and democratic political party, which can nurture and give expression to our collective dream of building a strong, united and developed Nigeria.
“May I use this opportunity to remind all of us of the need to recreate our negotiation secret of 2012, 2013 under our legacy parties. What guided our success to achieve the merger that produced the APC was the respect we were able to have for each other.
“In those times, decisions reached at both formal and informal consultations were respected with trusted initiatives taken and believed that they were needed to produce the required political platform that could guarantee electoral victory.
“Everyone of us as leaders ensured that those decisions were respected. I have through consultations of the caretaker committee and other leaders of the party, agree that our challenges in the party require that we take steps to rebuild the party from wards to national levels.”