The All Progressives Congress has said that it will proceed with its National Executive council meeting slated for Thursday, March 17, 2022.

This is as the party disclosed that it had begun the sale of forms ahead of the March 26 national convention.

The Spokesperson for the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Ismaeel Ahmed disclosed this to journalists late Tuesday at the National Secretariate shortly after a routine meeting of the committee.

Asked if the rejection of its notice of NEC meeting by the Independent National Electoral Commission last week would deter the meeting from holding on Thursday, Ahmed said, “We’re having our NEC on Thursday the 17th. And we’re going to be having it here.”

On why the National Secretary, Dr John Akpanudoedehe, who though was at Buhari House earlier on Tuesday was not present at the routine meeting, the spokesperson replied, “Wallahi I don’t know. I’m not in control of his itinerary. He doesn’t speak to me before he comes to the office. He doesn’t speak to me when he’s leaving so I don’t know why he is not here. I’m not even aware that he was in the office today. I thought he had travelled.”

He however noted that Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State who embarked on a trip has returned and will be at the national secretariat on Wednesday.

Giving clarifications on the sale of forms, the Spokesperson said the party has pegged forms for all positions outside the National Working Committee at N1m.

I just wanted to make a couple of clarifications. The Caretaker has mandated me to say that the sales of forms have begun for all the offices, both zonal and national. And like I said on Friday that the zonal congresses will be moved to the national convention to all happen on March 26, on Saturday.

So, there’ll be no separate zonal congress, apart from the national convention. All would happen on the same day. And then the prices for the zonal positions. I think that’s where there’s a bit of typographical error. The forms for the position of the national chairman have been agreed by the party to be sold at N20m,” he said.

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He noted that the forms for the position of National Secretary, Deputy National Chairman South and North would be sold at N10m. All other NWC positions will be sold at N5m.

“All other NEC positions; those are the deputy positions that are not members of NWC. Forms are going to be sold at N1m. All other positions of NEC which are deputy positions that are non-zonal and non-NWC would be sold at N1m. All positions at the zonal level, except the National Vice-Chairman, which is also a member of NWC would be sold at N500,000.

“Of course, that goes with the constitutional provision that women and people with physical challenges would be sold for 50 per cent of the prescribed fees. The convention is still March 26, sacrosanct. We’re still moving on toward it. And we’re looking forward to it and we’re going to be having our NEC meeting on Thursday, March 17,” Ahmed explained.

On the expected number of delegates for the convention, he said “I don’t have a particular number but we’re expecting between 3000 to 4000 delegates.”