Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has convened a national caucus meeting in Abuja on Monday to re-strategise for the forthcoming rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections coming up at the weekend.

Although the short message announcing the meeting was silent on the agenda, it, however, stated that the meeting would hold at the party’s secretariat, starting in the early hours of the day, unlike previously when it held inside the State House.

Meanwhile, there are strong indications that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) might lift the ban on political campaigns following the one- week postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The commission’s chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, at a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Saturday, had insisted that INEC would not lift the ban on campaign even as he quipped that “it is difficult for any political actor to be silent.”

However, reacting to the directive by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) to its members to start campaigning for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, told our correspondent that a meeting had been scheduled between the commission and stakeholders to deliberate on the possibility of lifting the ban on campaigns.

“We are actually going to hold a meeting with stakeholders this evening to deliberate and take a final decision on the issue,” he said in a chat.

Similarly, APC has said that the ruling party is more concerned about the electoral commission perfecting arrangements to conduct credible and acceptable polls at the weekend than a continuation of the political campaign, adding that there must have been very strong reasons for INEC to take such decision.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, told our correspondent in a telephone chat that: “INEC should have their reasons for such decision. What is more important to us at APC is for the commission to get themselves together and correct whatever that must have led to the postponement.

“The commission has just a few days to ensure that it tidied up every loose end so that we can have smooth and credible elections. We are not concerned about continuing with campaigns but the conduct of acceptable, peaceful elections this weekend,” he said.