CONVENTION:: APC debunks postponement, expects 6800 delegates

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has refuted the rumours that the party was planning to postpone its national convention slated to hold on June 23 due to lack of funds.

The secretary of the convention committee, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, who denied the rumours on Thursday, revealed that everything was going on as planned and that about 6800 delegates are expected at the convention.

He said on the likely postponement of the convention, “It is not correct. The convention is going on as planned. Nothing has happened to suggest the contrary. So, I can say categorically that the convention is going ahead.

“We are expecting about 6800 plus delegates. Of course you know that we will have observers, vendors, the media, entertainers. In all you should expect about 8000 people.”

On the party’s efforts to address issues in some states as a result of the ward, local and state congresses, the convention secretary said, “We are hoping to resolve those issues before the convention, especially in states where we have court processes. We are working to resolve them in one way or the other. This is politics and at the end of the day, you must leave a window open for harmonization and reconciliation.”

Also commenting on the outcome of the screening of the 179 aspirants for the various party offices during the coming convention Egba explained that “the screening committee finished its assignment yesterday. As we speak, the screening appeals committee is sitting. After the screening, there is an appeals panel to review the cases of those who feel aggrieved with the outcome of the screening committee’s assignment.

Governor Bello Masari had led the screening committee of the party which concluded its assignment on Tuesday.

Masari had told reporters that about 179 aspirants obtained nomination forms to contest various positions in the convention.

Meanwhile, screening appeals committee headed by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha was learnt to have on Thursday released guidelines for all aggrieved aspirants to forward their grievances to the committee.

The screening committee was said to have submitted an interim report which the appeals’ committee is working with.

In the report, petitioners were asked to among other things submit a list of their grievances in writing, support their petition with concrete and verifiable evidence of a breach of the party’s constitution and guidelines for the just-concluded screening exercise.

Bossgist gathered from monitored reports that the petitions are to be submitted to the Imo State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, not later than 12 noon on Saturday, June 16, 2018.

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