Top leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have gathered at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja for a pivotal National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, though some key figures were noticeably absent.
Ahead of the high-stakes gathering, security around the venue on Blantyre Street was tight, with a heavy presence of armed security personnel, including soldiers from the Guards Brigade. Both vehicular and pedestrian access to the area were restricted, and journalists, despite having been accredited, were kept outside the premises.
Among the early arrivals were National Working Committee (NWC) members, the Forum of State Chairmen, former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
The meeting saw the attendance of governors from Edo, Benue, Ondo, Ekiti, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Yobe, Niger, Lagos, Kogi, Ogun, and Imo, as well as former governors from Kogi, Kebbi, Niger, Zamfara, and Plateau, and the deputy governor of Ebonyi.
However, the absence of some key party figures stirred attention. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi were conspicuously missing from the gathering.
Notably present were party leader President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, all of whom are seen as central to the APC’s current leadership.
This NEC meeting, the first since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, follows the national caucus meeting held the previous day at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Some APC stalwarts, including El-Rufai and former National Vice Chairman Salihu Lukman, have raised concerns about the party’s internal democracy, adding a layer of tension to the ongoing deliberations.
