The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended its scheduled nationwide public hearing aimed at amending the party’s constition in the leadup to its non-elective national convention indefinitely, LEADERSHIP can authoritatively report.
The development, it is learnt may affect the Party’s plans to hold its non-elective convention in April.
Reason for the planned suspension of the constitutional review hearings, findings reveal is not unconnected to the paucity of funds the party has been experiencing in recent times.
LEADERSHIP recalls that reports were replete recently with stories of the poor financial status of the party with its attendant consequences of delayed payments of staff and the owing of payment for advertorials.
The decision was however reached last Tuesday via notices to some party stakeholders and development partners.
LEADERSHIP reports that at the time of writing this report, notices have not been published, which is a key requirement for a constitutional review exercises.
The first set of public hearings were initially scheduled to tale place in Imo, Edo, Lagos, Kano, Bauchi and Benue states.
The leadership of the APC has in the last few weeks been meeting with stakeholders from the principal officers of the National Assembly to the governors of the APC states recently with a plan to engage the ministers in the Federal Cabinet to mitigate the dwindling financial fortunes of the party.
The party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun had said during the meeting with governors recently that “We have held consultation with our leadership in the senate, in the House of Representatives, we are going to hold consultation with the ministers as part of the preparation for the national convention which is a mandatory requirement.
“There are lots of things that must happen in preparation towards our non elective convention which the states must be actively involved”
Meanwhile, the Cash crunch in the APC is taking another shape, as the staff of the ruling party are planning to down tools over two-months unpaid salaries.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a staff of the party lamented that they have not been paid their 2016 thirteenth month salary and that of February 2017.
It would be recalled that the party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, had in a statement after the consultative meeting between National Working Ccommittee of the party and the APC governors stated that the status quo was not working as a new stream of income would have to be sourced for the party.
“It was agreed that the Party is not effectively funded as it should be. A new funding mechanism was therefore devised based on a planned continuous membership registration exercise across the country. The meeting agreed that this is the only sustainable way to fund the party”. Bolaji said.