Politics

I’ve not resigned as APC National Secretary ― Akpanudoedehe

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, has denied that he has resigned from his position.

Akpanudoedehe made this known in reaction to the report making the rounds that he has resigned as the National Secretary of the APC caretaker committee.

He noted that if he had resigned from his position, his letter of resignation would have been written by him.

Akpanudoedehe, in a statement made available to The Star on Tuesday, stated: “I have read in the social media that I have resigned as Secretary of the APC Caretaker Committee. I want to state that it is not true. I didn’t resign. If I have resigned, you would have seen my letter of resignation written by me. Someone cannot just say somebody is dead when he is alive.

“I am not bigger than the party, or bigger than the President who is a leader of the country. I am waiting for the National Chairman to come back.

“We have done reconciliation, ward, local governments, and state congresses. And we are about to do the National Convention. This is not the first time you are seeing power play.

“I am waiting for the chairman. If we have directive from the President that we should resign, we are not bigger than the President, we will do so, if we hear from him. Somebody cannot say go and announce he is resigning. Like MKO Abiola used to say you don’t shave someone’s head in his absence.

“I am stating here that that breaking news is not from me. I don’t know who announced it.

“Someone cannot say ‘the president said’. I have not received any letter from anywhere. As I said, nobody is bigger than the party. The issue is that, have I resigned? The answer is no. I am the National Secretary of the party.”

The latest development comes amid the reported replacement of Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni with his Niger State counterpart, Abubakar Sani Bello by President Muhammadu Buhari as the chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.

Reports had earlier emerged on Monday that President Buhari sanctioned the removal of Governor Buni as the chairman of the APC caretaker committee.

It was later gathered that Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, was appointed as the APC CECPC chairman.

Speaking after a meeting with APC leaders at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, Governor Bello said he has only been acting as the acting chairman of the caretaker committee since Buni travelled abroad for medical check-up.

The Star