Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) gathered at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja for its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
Security was tightened around the venue on Blantyre Street, with armed personnel, including soldiers from the Guards Brigade, blocking access. Vehicular and pedestrian movement was restricted, and journalists were barred from entry despite an accredited media list released earlier by party spokesperson Felix Morka.
Among the early attendees were members of the National Working Committee (NWC), the Forum of State Chairmen, former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari, Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Also present were governors from 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.
Notably absent from the meeting were former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers governor and ex-Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi.
President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas arrived at noon, with APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje presiding over the session.
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 criticized the party for lacking internal democracy.
