APC Holds NEC Meeting in Abuja Amid Tight Security, Buhari, Amaechi, Other Key Figures Absent

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) convened on Wednesday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, marking the first NEC meeting since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023. The gathering took place under heavy security, with armed personnel, including soldiers from the Guards Brigade, restricting movement along Blantyre Street. Despite prior accreditation, journalists were denied entry, and access to the area was tightly controlled.

The meeting was attended by key APC figures, including members of the National Working Committee (NWC), the Forum of State Chairmen, and prominent party leaders such as former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu. Governors from Edo, Benue, Ondo, Ekiti, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Yobe, Niger, Lagos, Kogi, Ogun, and Imo states were present, along with the deputy governor of Ebonyi. Several former governors, including those from Kogi, Kebbi, Niger, Zamfara, and Plateau, also attended.

President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas arrived at the venue around noon, with APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje presiding over the meeting. However, some high-profile party figures were absent, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi.