“If President Buhari Asks Buni And I To Quit, We Quit, Power Play Is At Work” – Akpanudoedehe

By Gideon Njoku

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr John Akpandoedehe, says he and the Chairman, Mai Mala Buni, would quit from their respective offices the minute President Muhammadu Buhari asks them to do so.

Akpanudoedehe made  the statement while reacting to the news which made the rounds in the social media that he had quit as the Secretary of the Party.

A former Senator, he was appointed alongside  Buni, Governor of Yobe State and others to run the affairs of the Party, and organise a National Convention, on the sack of former National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

But for almost two years, Buni and his team have been unable to organise a Convention. The allegation is that he is deliberately stalling it because he wants to supervise the Presidential Primaries, to the anger of not a few APC stakeholders.

On Monday, March 7, 2023, the news that President Buhari has sacked Buni, and in his place, appointed the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, a member of Buni’s Committee, hit the Nation. It was said that Buhari aborted his earlier planned trip to the United Kingdom from Nairobi, Kenya for his medicals because he wanted to give the order to sack Buni.

Confusion hit the APC, and nobody knew what to believe. Akpanudoedehe issued a statement to deny the sack of Buni. What is obvious, however, is that there is crisis within the leadership of the APC.

On Monday, the National Secretariat was cased by Policemen. And, like a King, Governor Bello drove into the Secretariat, accompanied by praise singers who kept hailing him: “The Chair; the new Chairman.” He presided over  a meeting, and inaugurated the newly elected State Chairmen.

However, speaking to Reporters, Bello said he was only Acting as the Chairman, and had done so for sometime, because Buni had been out of the country, reportedly in Dubai for medicals.

But on Tuesday when the news of Akpanudoedehe’s resignation hit the street, the conclusion was that truly, Buhari has sacked the Committee.

However, Akpanudoedehe has debunked the news of his resignation saying he remained in office, and would resign only if Buhari  asks them to do so.

He said: ” I want to state that it is not true, I haven’t resigned. If I have resigned, you will see my resignation letter from me.

“Someone cannot say someone is dead while he is alive. I am not bigger than the Party. I am waiting for my National Chairman to come back.

“We have done so much for this Party. When we inherited it,  you will recall it ( the Party) was at its lowest ebb. We were able to cover some grounds, and registered 41million people. We have also been able to buy the Secretariat.

“This is not the first time we have seen power play. I am waiting for the Chairman. If we have directives from Mr President that we should resign, we are not bigger than the President, we would do so.”

Buni is still out of the country, and so is President Buhari.