With just three days to the conduct of its national convention, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is in a dilemma over lack of funds as many governors in the party have refused to make contributions towards the event.
A member of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), who made the disclosure to Daily Independent on Tuesday said some of the governors who had earlier made promises to fund the convention have failed to fulfill their financial promises to the party.
He, however, added that despite the challenge, the party leadership, headed by Governor Mai Mala Buni is working assiduously towards making the convention a success.
When asked if the party may be forced to shift the date of the convention, he said that cannot happen as the March 26 date is sacrosanct.
He also added that some of the delegates are already in Abuja. “Yes, the party is cashstrapped, no doubt about that. Organising a national convention requires lots of money running into billions of naira but we don’t have the required funding at the moment.
The committee under Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, has been judiciously maximising the little resources at its disposal to ensure the convention is conducted on Saturday.
“Majority of the governors who had earlier promised to fund the convention are yet to do so. And you know, these are the major backbone of the party when it comes to funding.
However, let me assure you that the convention will not be postponed. No matter the challenges, we are working round the clock to ensure we have a successful event on Saturday”.
The governors, led by Kaduna State governor, Nasir El- Rufai, and his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, had earlier said Buni will not preside over the convention and declared support for Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello as the acting national chairman.
They said President Buhari gave them directives to remove Buni over alleged plans by him to frustrate the convention from holding on March 26.
However, the president last week returned Buni to his position as acting national chairman and asked the governors to cooperate with him.
