The ruling All Progressives Congress has shelved its zonal congress, which was scheduled for Saturday.

This came to the fore on Tuesday as the party said it would soon release the zoning formula.

The PUNCH reports that the decision on the zonal congress was part of fresh moves to reverse some of the decisions made by the embattled Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, whose role has now been taken over by Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State.

Although the APC has continued to evade questions on the zonal congress, a top source at the party said, “We have decided within the party not to talk about the zonal congress. It will not hold on Saturday and we have no plans to hold it. The truth is that it is unknown to the APC’s constitution.

“It was all part of Buni’s strategy to continue to delay the national convention just like how he has continued to release different zoning lists and different lists of committees for the convention. Now the new acting chairman will reverse some of these questionable acts.”

Confirming this to The PUNCH, the Chairman of Kwara state branch of the APC, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, said the zonal congress of the party would no longer hold.

He said, “I don’t think that the zonal congress will hold any longer as they said that it is not in the constitution of the party. So, probably, the party will make other arrangements. I’m not saying that the party will not have zonal officers.”

Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Governor Bello, says the party’s leadership on Tuesday adopted the zoning report it received from the Zoning Committee led by the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak.

He further revealed that the National Executive Council meeting which includes the governors, the state chairmen and other organs of the party, will meet next week to put in place modalities ahead of the March 26 national convention.

Bello further revealed that he would continue to hold meetings at the party’s national headquarters every day until the convention.

Speaking to journalists, he said, “The report of the zoning formula has been submitted and adopted and it will be released any moment from now. I mean the zoning formula.

“Hopefully, by next week, the NEC meeting will hold. It is a continuation of Monday’s meeting. And just so you know, so you won’t be asking me the same thing tomorrow, we are going to be meeting every day until the convention so that we can put things together.

“Basically, today we looked at the convention sub-committee and we collected some of the reports from the committee hoping that tomorrow we will decide on the next step to take.”

On whether the CECPC National Secretary, John Akpanudoedehe, is part of the new leadership of the APC, Bello replied, “ask him”.

While confusion reigned in some quarters, The PUNCH observed jubilation amongst certain groups.