Nat’l Convention: APC drops Olododo, other Kwara factional members from c’ttee 

By Mumini Abdulkareem

The reported appointment of some factional members of the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into committees for Saturday’s National Convention of the party has been terminated, National Pilot reliably gathered, last night.
Three members of the faction of the APC whose results of state congresses were earlier rejected by the national leadership were allegedly appointed into various committees for the convention scheduled to take place in Abuja.
This medium had earlier reported the appointment of the former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chairman of the nPDP  in the APC, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje (Election Appeal), Senator Gbemisola Saraki (Entertainment and Accommodation), AbdulGaniyu Olododo (Elections Committee), Ayo Obisesan (Venue Committee) and Alhaji Raheem Olawuyi (Ajuloopin) who was reportedly appointed to serve in the Security Committee.
Olododo, Obisesan and Olawuyi are three factional members of the APC in the state with the former chief of staff (Olododo) still under suspension by the state chapter of the party.
The withdrawal of their National Convention appointment went viral on the social media and it generated huge debate in the political circles, last night.
According to an online statement, the leadership of the party invalidated the purported appointment of the trio adding that “the purported appointment letters issued to them were invalid, irregular and inadvertent.
When contacted last night on the telephone, the national spokesperson of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi directed our reporter to the convention committee secretary, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN).
The secretary however did not pick calls to his line and his response to a text message was still being awaited before this paper went to bed.
But a top party chieftain in Abuja confirmed the withdrawal of the appointments adding that the defence put forward by the factional members regarding the issue amounts to nothing.
“I can confirm to you that their appointment has been withdrawn by the committee. Their entire defence regarding the issue is just crying over spilt milk,” the national member of the party submitted.
But reacting to the issue, Olododo denied his suspension and described the letter that contained the withdrawal of his appointment as being forged.
“This is fake news. The letter was formed. I just finished my own committee meeting a while ago. It’s not true”, he added.
Several calls to Olododo’s colleague, Ayo Obisesan last night to seek his reaction over the issue were not answered.
Recall that the Publicity Secretary of the faction, Kayode Oyin-Zubair, celebrated the appointments of his colleagues into the convention committee in an online post on Monday.
But last night in a statement personally signed by him, the APC’s factional spokesman called on the police to arrest “authors and purveyors of fake letters bearing Senator Ndoma-Egba’s name circulated on social media.
“It is expected that such letters should go to the concerned individuals through same avenue that gave them the original letters…
“We want to assure our members that the gentlemen representing Kwara on those committees have resumed for work in Abuja since yesterday (Tuesday)”, the statement noted.

…Buhari reveals what ‘rogue’ Abuja-based politicians are doing in Kwara

By Mumini Abdulkareem

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has raised the alarm that two different groups, led by some aggrieved members of the party were compiling fake list of delegates ahead of the Saturday national convention of the party in Abuja.
The party in a statement signed by its certified state publicity secretary, Sulyman Buhari and made available to National Pilot said it have it on good authority that the decision to compile a fake list of delegates for the convention was reached at a meeting held on Tuesday in the house of a chieftain of the party in GRA, Ilorin, the state capital.
It added that it was also aware that another group led by some Abuja based politicians has procured branded buses and banners, vest and Ankara to be used by the fake delegates for the convention.
The group, the party added has even gone to the extent of making accommodation arrangement at Wuse area of Abuja for the fake delegates.
The two groups were accused by the party of “fishing for people on the streets of Ilorin to use as delegates and begging them to come to Abuja with the promise for a handsome pay on their return.
“As a party, we are not bothered by the evil antics of those 3-months to elections politicians. But we believe we owe it as a duty to the leadership of our party at the national level to expose the evil machinations of these politicians whose only mission is obviously to disrupt the National Convention in Abuja with multiple delegates list as against the one officially sanctioned by the party.
“We like to reiterate for the umpteenth times that there is no faction in the Kwara State chapter of the APC. The APC in Kwara state is one. Therefore, any group or groups laying claims to factionalisation are mere jokers and dreamers who have refused to wake up to the reality that they cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”

…APC’ ll crash if nPDP leaves – Timi Frank

Former National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timi Frank, has said if the aggrieved nPDP leaves the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party will crumble.
Frank said this in response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s rejection of a request for a meeting by nPDP leaders.
“We have not been formally communicated. We read it on the pages of newspapers like everyone else,” he said.
“If it is true — because there has not been a denial from the Presidency — I want to say that it was this same nonchalant attitude that the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, exhibited that led us to leave the party and the party paid the price.
“If today our President decides to say he is going to ignore us, so be it but I can assure you that we can’t be ignored. Our group is not a group that anybody can ignore. We have the capacity to make our point.
“If we leave today, I can assure you the party (APC) will crash. We want to believe that that news is a rumour. I don’t think the President will say he doesn’t want to see members of his party.”
The nPDP hasn’t officially responded to the matter yet, as its Chairman, Kawu Baraje, and Bukola Saraki, another key leader, are both out of the country.
Baraje is in Saudi Arabia observing lesser hajj while the Senate President is on a state visit to Russia.