Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have elected new executive committee members to pilot the affairs of the party in various states of the federation.
This follows the party’s state congresses conducted on Saturday in various states of the federation.
While the exercise went smoothly in some states, others witnessed the emergence of two sets of officials as a result of the parallel elections held.
Among the states where the exercise went smoothly was the Lagos chapter of the party. There, members adopted the voice vote approach to elect a new set of executive members.
The election of the candidates for the 36 positions at the congress took place at the Onikan Stadium in the Lagos Island area of the state.
Party leaders at the congress include Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, and some members of the National Assembly.
They are the lawmaker representing Lagos Central district, Oluremi Tinubu, and a member of the House of Representatives, James Faleke, among others.
Chairman of the Election Organising Committee, Adebayo Adelabu, explained that 35 out of the 36 positions were returned unopposed.
He added that 37 forms were received for the office of the state chairman, but only two candidates were screened for the position.
Adelabu, said while one was disqualified, the committee was left with the option of one candidate for the position of the chairman.
He stated that the guidelines set by the national leadership of the party for the state congress had been met before going ahead to throw open the voice vote option which was unanimously adopted by the delegates who thundered their approval from the pavilions.
Thereafter, a former member of the House in the 6th Assembly and former Commissioner for Rural Development in Lagos, Cornelius Ojelabi, emerged as the state chairman of the APC.
In his acceptance speech, Ojelabi promised to work assiduously with other executives to return the governor of Lagos state in 2023.
In Yobe, the immediate past Treasurer of the state chapter of the party, Mohammed Gadaka, emerged as the new chairman alongside 35 other executive members.
This followed the announcement by the Election Committee Chairman, Osita Izunaso, that the party had unanimously adopted a consensus for the 36 positions of the party.
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, monitored the exercise alongside the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the Resident Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Yobe, Ahmed Makama.
The exercise held at the Government House in Damaturu, the state capital.
Elsewhere, delegates from the 18 local government areas of Ondo voted the acting state party chairman, Ade Adetimehin, to champion the APC in the state.
Alaye Adesina and Agabra Atile also emerged as secretary and deputy chairman at the congress held at the International Culture and Events Centre in Akure.
The Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, monitored the exercise on behalf of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. While the Congress Committee Chairman, Komral Longap, welcomed the delegates, the team’s secretary, Segun Olamibi, announced that voting would be by consensus.
The new executive members were later adopted by an APC chieftain, Jamiu Ekungba, on behalf of the party, an action that was seconded by a member of the House of Representatives from Owo/Ose Constituency, Timehin Adelegbe.
Adetimehin, in his acceptance speech, thanked the leadership and members of the party for their support and promised that the new executive members would serve the APC with total commitment.
Just like in other states, APC members in Kaduna adopted the consensus option to elect new state executive committee members.
This led to the emergence of Air Commodore Emmanuel Jekada as the state chairman, while some former officials of the party were returned unopposed.
The Congress Committee Chairman, Abubakar Moddibo, explained that the consensus option adopted by the state chapter was in line with the party’s constitution.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai; his deputy, Hadiza Balarabe; Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani, and others attended the Congress held at the Murtala Mohammed Square in the Kaduna state capital.
The congress was also monitored by INEC officials led by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kaduna.
As the congress held in Ogun, Niger, and other states, it suffered a setback in Taraba where the exercise was rescheduled indefinitely.
APC spokesman in the state, Bulus Gago, confirmed the development on Saturday. No reason was given for the postponement of the state congress.
On Wednesday, some stakeholders of the party threatened to boycott the congress, as well as file a suit if their grievances were not addressed.
These include the inability of the national headquarters to publish winners of the ward and local government congresses, alleged hijacking of the party structure by some bigwigs, among others.
