APC Member Writes to Ganduje, Demands Cancellation of ‘Illegitimate’ Congress in UK

Olusanjo Olurebi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United Kingdom, has called on Umar Ganduje, the national chairman of the party, to cancel the congress held on June 29 in the European country.

In a letter addressed to Ganduje through Axis Solicitors Limited, Olurebi alleged procedural anomalies and deprivation of his rights.

Olurebi said party members were informed of the election through a newspaper report in Nigeria, contradicting earlier communications that the information would be provided by the caretaker committee.

“As a legitimate member of the APC UK, our client and several members of the party in the UK are completely disenfranchised,” the letter reads.

“As a result, our client was denied his legitimate right to participate and vote at the congress of the party section to which he belongs as a full member.

“Similarly, other members were deprived of their legitimate right to participate in elections, which is the basis of democracy and the democratic party (APC).”

Olurebi criticised the caretaker committee for failing to convene a general meeting of members and stakeholders, citing personal grievances between the chairman and the secretary as the root cause of the dysfunction.

“The interim committee, inaugurated and set up at the central London meeting on January 13, 2024, has failed to perform the functions it was mandated to perform before meeting on a congress date,” Olurebi said.

“They have refused for over six months to call a general meeting of members and stakeholders to harmonise the party due to personal grievances between the president and secretary, putting the collective interests of members in the UK at risk.

“Furthermore, the interim president is running for the position of proposed congress president, after manipulating the process and using his position to propagate his campaign, which is unfair, inequitable, undemocratic and contrary to the party’s constitution of a level playing field for all candidates.”

The APC member said the committee also “organized a stakeholders meeting on June 27, 2024” without informing the majority of members.

“Only a small number of members were informed because of their support for their candidate. This is inappropriate, disproportionate, unfair and contrary to the party’s statutes,” he said.

“The interim president has reversed the mandate of the interim committee set up in January by creating another local organizing committee for himself and his group to take over and organize the congress on June 29, 2024, which is totally absurd.”

Olurebi called on Ganduje to cancel the “illegitimate congress” because it “does not represent the interests of most party members.”

The APC member also called on Ganduje to “immediately dissolve and sack the current caretaker committee and establish a new
Committee”.