Nigeria Content Online

As
the build-up to the National Convention of the All Nigerian People’s
Party (ANPP) continues, five contenders to the position of National
Chairman of the party have so far submitted their nomination forms
ahead of Saturday’s convention. The Secretary to the National
Convention Committee, Livinus Nwambe, announced this in Abuja on
Tuesday.

According to the
committee, headed by the Yobe state Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam; an elder
state man and former presidential aspirant of the party, Harry Akande,
was the first to obtain nomination form. Mr Akande, from Oyo state, is
a leading figure among other contenders which includes the outgoing
Board of Trustees Chairman, Gambo Magaji, from Gombe state and the
outgoing deputy national chairman, Yusuf Musa from Adamawa state, who
is an advocate of returning ANPP leadership to the North. Mr Musa had
recently said that the crisis rocking the party resulted from zoning
the position of the national chairman to the south. He criticised the
National Executive Committee led by the outgoing National Chairman,
Edwin Eme-Ezuoke, saying it retarded the party’s progress.

Also in the race
for the apex position is George Moghalu, former National Secretary of
the party who defected to PDP and later returned few weeks ago. The
outgoing National Publicity Secretary, Emma Eneukwu from Enugu State,
is also jostling for the seat alongside John Odigie-Oyegum from Edo,
who expressed readiness to slug it out with others on Saturday. Ahead
of the July 15 deadline set for aspirants to pick up forms, only Idris
Abdullahi from Kwara State, picked the form to run as the National
Secretary of the party, while only two candidates are in the race for
the position of Deputy National Chairman. The two contenders are;
Nnamdi Olebara from Imo State and Lanre Amosun from Lagos State. The
only aspirant in the race for the position of Organising Secretary of
the party is the incumbent, David Umah from Benue State.

Ready to go

On the
preparedness of the ANPP for the convention, the Secretary to the
Committee, Livinus Nwambe, said that all necessary logistics to ensure
a successful convention were ready. According to Mr Nwambe, the ANPP is
being “driven by a big picture and repositioning to serve through
popular vote to adequately address not only how to serve but why to
serve the people of Nigeria better.” A source, however informed the
News Agency of Nigeria that the committee would meet on Wednesday to
resolve issues surrounding zoning of national executive positions
currently rocking the party. It said if the party again decides to
adopt zoning system in distributing its national offices, there might
be a re-organisation among the aspirants to determine which office each
person would contest.