APC makes U-turn, shifts dates of Tinubu's rallies in South-East

How it started: Pulse reports that Tinubu was billed to hold rallies in Imo and Anambra states on a Monday, a day usually observed as a sit-at-home in the South-East.

APC moves dates: However, latest reports claimed that the ruling party has made a U-turn on that decision as rallies in those two states have received new dates.

Although no official reason has been given, a source in the campaign council confirmed to The Punch that the party earlier failed to take into account that “Monday is a dreaded period” for anybody to go out in some areas of the South-East.

The paper also observed that the APC had shifted its campaign activities in the zone from Monday, which may not be unconnected to the mandatory sit-at-home order imposed by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Genesis of sit-at-home order: Although introduced in August 2021 by IPOB in protest against the detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Pulse reports that the sit-at-home order has since been renounced by the group.

However, residents in the region still observe it every Monday as activities are usually paralysed with banks, markets, motor parks, schools, filling stations and other public outlets not opening for business.

APC sets new dates: Meanwhile, the previous timetable released by the APC stated that Tinubu’s campaign and zonal stakeholders’ meeting will hold in Imo State on Monday, November 21, but that has now been shifted to Tuesday.

Similarly, the Anambra’s rally scheduled for Monday, January 30, has also been moved to Tuesday according to the adjusted timetable released by the campaign council on Friday night.

The Punch source said: “If you drive out anyhow in the South-East on a Monday, it is at owner’s risk. The South-East is not a place where you can just veer into and gather people in the name of politics.

“So, we have to make that necessary amendment in dates, not necessarily because of possible confrontation, but to make people willing to troop out for the rallies.”

Keyamo disagrees: However, the Chief Spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has argued that the change in date has nothing to do with the potential threats posed by Eastern Security Network or IPOB.

He also debunked the notion that the ruling party was trying to dodge IPOB hence the shift in date, adding that the timetable was a working draft that can be reviewed as deem necessary.

Keyamo's word: “As the ruling party, our plan is to cover the entire country. We should not be seen as giving oxygen to non-state actors.

"We are not running away from anybody or group. As I earlier told you, the timetable is just a working document that can be amended any time.”