Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) gathered at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja for a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
Security around the venue on Blantyre Street was heightened, with armed personnel, including soldiers from the Guards Brigade, blocking all roads leading to the location. Vehicular and pedestrian movement was restricted, while journalists, despite being accredited earlier in the day, were denied access.
Among the early attendees were members of the National Working Committee (NWC), the Forum of State Chairmen, former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Also present were the governors of Edo, Benue, Ondo, Ekiti, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Yobe, Niger, Lagos, Kogi, Ogun, and Imo, along with the deputy governor of Ebonyi and former governors of Kogi, Kebbi, Niger, Zamfara, and Plateau.
However, the absence of former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi was notable.
President Bola Tinubu, the party’s leader, arrived at noon alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas. APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje presided over the meeting.
This NEC meeting, the first since Tinubu took office in May 2023, followed the party’s national caucus meeting held a day earlier at the Presidential Villa.
Some APC leaders, including El-Rufai and former National Vice Chairman Salihu Lukman, have previously voiced concerns about the party’s internal structure, describing it as lacking in democracy.
