Power blocs in the All Progressives Congress have shifted the battle for the control of the party to state chapters  ahead of  their state, local government and ward congresses.

Since the APC National Executive Committee, at its June 25 meeting, announced the plan to hold the congresses, opposing forces had been wooing members with a view to ensuring that their loyalists emerged as officials of the party.

Some of the power blocs in state chapters are loyal to the Adams Oshiomhole-led  National Working Committee, which was sacked by NEC, while others are opposed to it.

As state chapters  prepared for congresses, there were indications on Sunday that the APC was planning to update its membership register with a view   to “weeding out”  names of individuals, who had left the party.

But it was gathered that some national officials were pushing for election of new officials at the state, local government and ward levels, while others were insisting that such officials should only be elected in states where there were caretaker committees.

A party chieftain, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “Although the party has yet to fix dates for the various congresses, members have started mobilising one another.

“No governor or chieftain of the party will sit by and allow those who are not loyal to him emerge as officials. That will be amount to digging his own grave. That is what informs the intrigues in the state chapters at present, although some states may not elect new officials.”

Although it was learnt that the battles were going on in  all state chapters, they were  more intense in Zamfara, Rivers, Ogun, Imo, Kwara and Edo states.

In the Zamfara State chapter, which lost the 2019  governorship election due to the division  between members loyal to a former governor of the state, AbdulAziz Yari, and Senator Kabiru Marafa, the two factions claimed legitimacy ahead of the party’s congresses.

While Yari’s faction is headed by Lawal Liman, Marafa’s faction has as its Chairman, Sirajo Maikatako.