Etim Effiong
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied a 2023 zoning list in circulation, noting that it has yet to zone its offices ahead of the forthcoming national convention.
A list in circulation shows that the APC has zoned its 2023 presidential ticket to the South and chairmanship to the North, and more.
Reacting, Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Sen John James Akpanudoedehe, in a statement on Wednesday, described the list as the handiwork of speculators who are interested in running for various offices.
“People who are interested in running for one office or the other can speculate.
“As far as I am concerned, the last Caretaker Committee meeting we had, we did not discuss that [zoning].
“That is not what we are concerned with now. What we are concerned with is data collection; how to collect data without making mistake.
“We are not going to be pressurised because of sentiment and we do the wrong thing.
“Let me say that zoning is not for the Caretaker Committee alone.
“It has to do with the President, it has to do with other major stakeholders, it has to do with a lot of people.
“I want to mute the speculation. The list is not from us [Caretaker Committee].
“The President is not in town. There is no way such decision will be taken without consulting with the President, consulting with the governors and other major stakeholders,” he said.