APC NEC Meeting Today: Party Leaders Hint at ‘Earth-Shaking Decisions’

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is expected to take major decisions at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 25, amid a deepening leadership crisis within the ruling party.

Sources within the party described the expected decisions as “earth-shaking,” saying they were considered necessary to stabilise the APC and address the internal disagreements threatening its unity.

The crisis took a significant turn after President Muhammadu Buhari declared support for the NEC meeting convened by Victor Giadom, who had presented himself as the party’s acting national chairman following a series of court decisions and leadership disputes.

Buhari also indicated that he would attend the meeting, strengthening Giadom’s position in the struggle for control of the party.

However, another faction of the APC, which recognised former Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi as acting national chairman, rejected the meeting and described it as illegal.

Members of that faction urged party stakeholders to disregard the notice convening the NEC meeting, further exposing the divisions within the ruling party.

Hilliard Eta, the APC National Vice Chairman for the South-South, who was acting on behalf of Ajimobi while the former governor battled illness, also alleged that he had received threats to his life.

Eta claimed the threats came from individuals he described as political thugs operating from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and said he intended to formally report the matter to the police.

He also alleged that some individuals were planning to attack or set fire to the APC national secretariat and subsequently blame members of the National Working Committee.

Giadom dismissed the allegation and advised Eta to report any genuine security threat to the police. He also countered that Eta himself could be attempting to bring supporters into Abuja for political purposes, an allegation that was likewise unsubstantiated.

As the crisis intensified, APC chieftain Tonye Princewill called for intervention by senior national leaders to resolve both the national dispute and the lingering crisis within the Rivers State chapter of the party.

Princewill warned that the internal divisions could again damage the APC politically, recalling the problems the party faced during the 2019 elections.

He argued that only powerful figures such as the President, Vice-President or Senate President were in a position to successfully mediate between the competing factions.

Princewill also cautioned against attempts to exclude former Rivers State Governor and then Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi or other major stakeholders from the party.

He maintained that the Rivers APC could not be rebuilt around the interests of only one faction, whether loyal to Amaechi, Senator Magnus Abe or any other political leader.

According to him, all major stakeholders should be given an opportunity to participate in rebuilding the party.

With Buhari’s backing for the NEC meeting and rival factions maintaining conflicting positions, attention turned to the decisions expected from the gathering and their potential impact on the future leadership and structure of the APC.