Home / Lead Story / APC National convention: Delegates gather to ratify President Buhari’s candidacy; Security tight; Traders, hawkers, storm Eagle Square; As NWC clears eight for Kwara guber primaries
Eagle Square

APC National convention: Delegates gather to ratify President Buhari’s candidacy; Security tight; Traders, hawkers, storm Eagle Square; As NWC clears eight for Kwara guber primaries

President Buhari
Eagle Square

 Abuja,Oct.6.2018
No fewer than 7,000 delegates from across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have converged on the Abuja Eagle Square for the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, national presidential convention, Saturday.
 The delegates which include three from each Local Government Area in the country, aside the statuary delegates, are to ratify the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari as the APC presidential candidate for the 2019 election.
 The votes scored by President Buhari at the recent APC presidential primary held across the states of the federation would be made public at the convention.

 Eagle Square Abuja, venue of the Convention, is already agog with business activities as traders and hawkers display their wares around the facility.

Eagle Square is located around the Federal Secretariat, the Central Area of Abuja, popularly called the Three Arms Zone.

Although the convention was supposed to commence by 2 p.m., it was however shifted to 6 p.m. to enable delegates from states who had just concluded their various primaries to participate in the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all roads leading to the venue have been shut to vehicular traffic by combined teams of heavily armed security personnel.

The agencies involved include: the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Army.
Safety and emergency services such as the Federal Road Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the FCT Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) and the Federal and FCT and Fire Services are also taking part in the exercise.
Traffic is being diverted at major intersections several metres away from the venue on both sides of the Ahmadu Bello and Shehu Shagari Ways, and adjoining routes leading to the Eagle Square.
As at the time of filing this report at 2:30 p.m (Nigerian time), the event had yet to start.
But the stage is set inside the Eagle Square where organisers are putting finishing touches to decorations on canopies and chairs prepared for delegates.

Some traders who spoke to NAN said they arrived at the venue of the event the previous day.

Mrs Aisha Idris who sells clothing materials, said she came from Kaduna to transact her business.

”I came to Abuja yesterday because I live in Kaduna with my family and I see the convention as an opportunity to sell my goods to the delegates and any other interested buyer,” Idris said.

She, however, complained that the sales had not been encouraging.

The story was, however, different with Mr Chinedu Eze who sells shoes and sandals.

Eze said he came to the venue since Friday but thanked God for his sales, so far.

”I came from Lafia, Nasarawa State, and I sell shoes with prices ranging from N1, 500, N2, 000, and above. And I thank God that I have been able to make some sales,” he said.

A food vendor, Miss Doris Akpan, was also happy that the convention was holding.

Akpan, who sells rice, beans and other delicacies, said she was almost through with the sales.

”I came from Suleja, Niger, as early as 6:45 a.m. and I thank God that my food remains just little to finish,” she said.

The story is the same with Mohammed Salihu who hawks phone accessories but lives at Nyanya.

He said he was able to make use of the convention to make a brisk business.

NAN reports that the APC convention is taking place after series of events which began with the state congresses to elect delegates for the convention.

 This is as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC has cleared eight aspirants to contest the Kwara governorship primaries.
 Mr Yekini Nabena, the APC acting National Publicity Secretary disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, adding that the clearance was based on the recommendation of the party’s governorship screening panel.
 Nabena listed those cleared as follows:
1.    Yakubu Gobir
2.    Hakeem Lawal
3.    Ishaq Modibbo Kawu
4.    Lukman Mustapha
5.    Prof. Oba Abdul Raheem
6.    Alhaji Tajudeen
7.    Abdullahi Shuaibu Yaman
8.    Abdulraheem Abdul Razak
According to Nabena, two aspirants, Abdulfatai Yahaya and Mohammed Dele Belgore voluntarily withdrew from the governorship race.

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