APC expels ex-vice chairman Eta and dissolves wards, state, zonal structures

The National Executive Committee, NEC, of the ruling All Progressives Congress on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, expelled a former National Vice Chairman, South-south, Ntufam Hilliard Eta.

The party’s NEC also dissolved states, zonal, and national party structures.

It also extended the tenure of the party’s caretaker extraordinary convention planning committee led by Governor Mai Buni by six months.

The decision was taken 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, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that the party approved the expulsion of Eta for his failure to withdraw the court case instituted against the caretaker committee.

Earlier, President Muhammadu Buhari in his opening remarks at the ongoing meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja had asked the leaders of APC to respect party decisions.

The President 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.”