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  • APC governors’ visit to Buhari a show of unity, strength in ruling party, says Uzodimma

    APC governors’ visit to Buhari a show of unity, strength in ruling party, says Uzodimma

    Yesterday’s visit by All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna was a display of unity and strength in the ruling party, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has said.

    The Imo helmsman, who doubles as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), said the governors mission to Kaduna was to tell Buhari that the party that produced him as President has grown bigger and waxing stronger.

    The visit came at a time that some opposition forces are regrouping to challenge the APC in 2027.

    The governors said told their host that the APC, as the largest party in Africa, is not only growing stronger,  but would remain stable and stronger even ahead of the electioneering period.

    Uzodimma told reporters after the closed door meeting with Buhari, said the governors deemed it necessary to pay homage to the Buhari, who served eight years under the platform of the party after the Ramadan, Lent and Eid-el-fitr celebration.

    Describing Buhari as a father to the APC family, Uzodimma said they were pleased to meet their host in good health and sound mind.

    He expressed gratitude to Buhari for his leadership and credited him with producing a cohesive machinery that made the party retain power.

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    Uzodimma said: “After Ramadan, Eid-el-Fitr and Lent, we deemed it necessary to come and pay a visit to the only former President produced by the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. And we have met him, fraternised with him and prayed  with him.

    “President Buhari is well pleased with our party and all of us as his children. He saw our visit as good initiative. We are also happy that we met him in good health and sound mind.

    “Our party is the largest party in African and it is the ruling party in Nigeria. The party is doing well, the party is strong and we will continue to work hard for the Party to be stronger with God giving us the grace.”

    Highlighting the party’s growth in strength and capacity to govern, the PGF chair attributed the success to the party’s ability to hold consultations and put the nation above individual interests.

    He emphasized the importance of internal cohesion and strong leadership in achieving electoral success.

    Host Governor Uba Sani described Buhari as a father, leader and an elder statesman, who has hosted in his Kaduna residence, not only politicians, but ordinary citizens.

    The governors are: AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara); Hyacinth Alia (Benue); Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo); Monday Okpebhole (Edo); Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe); Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa); Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti); Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi); Nasir Idris (Kebbi); Usman Ododo (Kogi) and  Katsina State Deputy Governor Farouk Jobe.

  • Senate leadership: APC governors step in

    Determined to avert a crisis in the 9th National Assembly, All Progressives Congress (APC) governors have waded into the row over choice of principal officers, especially the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    The race for Senate President is being hotly contested by the Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen. Danjuma Goje, and a former Senate Leader, Sen. Ali Ndume.

    A team raised by the governors may this week hold talks with Goje, who is rated as the favourite of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

    The governors are stepping in following speculations that Goje may declare his ambition for the coveted seat this week.

    According to a source, the APC governors are worried about the danger of the lawmakers elected on the platform of their party going into the Senate and the House divided on June 6.

    It was also learnt that the governors do not want the PDP to take advantage of any fresh crisis in APC to ‘hijack’ the National Assembly’s leadership.

    The governors decided to prevail on aspirants for principal offices to defer to President Muhammadu Buhari, especially on the choices of Dr. Ahmad Lawan for the Senate President and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker.

    A top source said: “The APC governors have chosen to rally around the President to resolve issues surrounding the election of principal officers. They said it is obvious that the party cannot handle the tension alone.

    “The main agenda is to ensure that our new members in the National Assembly go for inauguration in a more united manner. The governors do not want the party to play into the hands of the PDP this time around.

    “As part of the first leg of consultations by the governors, a team is expected to meet with Goje this week to seek his understanding.

    “This is a follow up to a similar meeting between the President and Goje, which was brokered by Governor Nasir el-Rufai.”

    On how the intervention will affect other aspirants, the source, who asked not to be named, said: “The intervention will trickle down. The governors will meet with other aspirants like Sen. Ndume, and those seeking to vie for office of the Speaker.

    “We have got to a stage that we need to put the interest of our government above personal interest.”

    The APC leadership is believed to have reached out to Goje, but  there has not been any commitment by him.

    Another source added: “Goje has not said yes or no on his purported ambition. But we have reached out to him. Some ex-governors have also met with him on the need to work with the President and the party.”

    Meanwhile, the APC has debunked insinuations that it will force senators-elect and House members-elect to sign an undertaking on the choice of principal officers.

    It was gathered that some lawmakers from the opposition were flying the kite to create a crisis in the APC caucuses in both chambers.

    “There is nothing like that, we are not going to blackmail our lawmakers and tie them down. We do not have any reasons to be doubting ourselves, “a high-ranking party leader said.

    When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the party was confident that majority of the lawmakers are committed to its interest.

    He said: “ Majority of the newly-elected members of the National Assembly are committed and they share our worldview of being progressive.

    “We are certain they will work with the party in the interest of our government so that we can deliver our promises to Nigerians.”

  • No cause for alarm, says Oshiomhole 

    …Says 90% APC members happy

     

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said that there was no cause for alarm on the speculated moves to remove him from office.

    He was reacting to reports in the social media of plans by some APC governors to storm Abuja towards gathering signatures to remove him from office.

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    Speaking with State House correspondents after a delegation of APC politicians from Kwara State met President Muhammadu Buhari, Oshiomhole said that only one or two out of the 23 APC state governors are not happy with him.

    The former Edo State Governor, who said that he is presently having his finest moment, said that nothing less than 90 percent of all APC members are happy with him at the helm of affairs.

    He said that those not happy with him in the party were aggrieved because he insisted on following due process.

    Also speaking, the Kwara State APC Governorship candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, said that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his camp are no threat to his ambition in 2019.

    According to him, Saraki is history in Kwara politics.

    Details Later…

  • 2019: How Buhari’ll battle Atiku, by APC governors

    Atiku Campaign raises posers for President

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governors are taking the 2019 battle to Peoples Democratic Partty (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar.

    They are confident that President Muhammadu Buhari will defeat the former vice president in next year’s election.

    The governors, after a meeting yesterday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, said they would engage in issue-based campaigns to convince Nigerians to vote Buhari.

    The Atiku camp, also yesterday, said it was ready for an issue-based campaign and went ahead to raise some questions which it said would dominate the campaign and for which they are demanding answers from the government.

    To demonstrate that Buhari also wants to campign based on his performance, the President received a 1042-page achievement compendium from Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, shortly before yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

    Mustapha said the compendium was a summary of policies and programmes implemented between 2015 and 2017 as approved by FEC, adding: “It is a valid and vivid proof of the giant strides by this administration.”

    According to him, the document will serve as first hand information for the President on projects and programmes implemented.

    The document, he said, will also serve as a reference point, lending credence to the fact that the administration has fulfilled its campaign promises.

    Governors at the meeting with the President, which was also attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and SGF Mustapha, are: Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Kashim Shettima (Borno) and Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos).

    Okorcha told reporters that the APC was not jittery because of Atiku’s emergence as PDP’s candidate.

    He said the governors came together “with our followers and supporters to further inform the world of our readiness to deliver Buhari in the 2019 election.

    “This is just basically the message we have come and to say that Mr. President is more than ever ready for the entire exercise.

    ”Our election this time will not engage on castigations or talking. We will be taking on issues, Nigerians are tired of political abuses; what we want to be talking about is issues, the track records of people involved in our elections.

    ”Nigerians are very wise now, before they elect anybody they will ask questions, what has been your track records, who were you before, who are you now and everything about you. And for that reason we are confident that in 2019, APC will go through.

    ”We have also looked at the issues concerning our primaries. In every democracy, you should expect a kind of disagreement and we have kindly requested that something be done to bring warring factions together so that we can have a united party to face the challenges ahead and we are happy that will soon take place.

    ”Most of the problems have been resolved, except for one or two states where we have issues and where it becomes more difficult, we ask for Mr. President’s intervention in the matter.

    ”We are talking about reconciliation, what is important to us is that we must never go into this battle, a divided family and we want to make sure that all governors are intact, all National Assembly members are intact while going into this battle. We will never speak differently, we will speak as members of the party,” he said

    On whether the controversy surrounding the Zamfara State APC primaries was part of the discussion, he said: “Zamfara is one of the issues that we have addressed also.”

    He added:  ”We can’t be jittery and history is there to speak, history is very important and it is there to speak so like I said we are not going to engage in this verbal war with anybody, we will be talking about issues. If we say look, you are not good, we’ll  tell you what we can do and we cannot do and what others cannot do.

    ”APC is not going to join in those talk shop but right we are discussing issues of what our party can do for our people.”

    Mustapha said the government had performed. “ This morning, I had the privilege of laying before the council a compendium of the policies, the programmes and the projects initiated and implemented by this government in two and half years. A total of one thousand and 42-page document, not stories, facts of what we have been able to achieve.

    ”This campaign will be driven by issues, this campaign must be predicated on what you are able to bring to the table for the people of Nigeria. It is not going to be a noisy campaign; anybody that is preparing for noise should be prepared to receive defeat in February of 2019.”

    The Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation also picked up the gauntlet by raising issues yesterday.

    In the posers, the Atiku camp challenged the administration to name one project it initiated, started and completed in the last  three years.

    Besides, it also challenged the Buhari group to name one youth in President Buhari’s cabinet.

    The Atiku camp also challenged the Buhari campaign and the APC to name one promise that President Buhari has kept or one Southerner heading any of the security agencies.

    It added:  “Name one terrorist arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned by the Buhari administration. Name one Buhari government official arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned over their many budget padding scandals.

    “Name one member of the Buhari administration fingered in corruption that was fired, arrested and currently facing trial. Name one former President or Head of State that has not been blamed by President Buhari for the precarious state of the economy he led us into.

    “Name one year that Nigeria’s GDP grew faster than her population under Buhari (for 16 years of PDP administrations, Nigeria’s GDP always grew faster than population growth).

    “Name the initiatives the Buhari government has put in place to address Nigeria being named the world headquarters for extreme poverty under Buhari.

    “Name one initiative the Buhari government has put in place to address Nigeria having the world’s highest number of out of school children (13.2 million according to the United Nations Children Fund)

    “Name the date the Ogoni cleanup will begin. Name what President Buhari has done with the ¦ 13 trillion loans he has taken in three years (compared to the ¦ 6 trillion borrowed by the PDP in 16 years). Name the real owners of the Ikoyi Apartment billions.

    ”These are the issues the Nigerian people want to hear about, not insults from a Presidency and a party that has spent three years in office only to preside over Nigeria’s first ever recession in 25 years.

    ”We urge the Buhari administration to remember that it is this disinterest in real governance and focus on trivialities that caused Bill Gates to look President Buhari in the eye and tell him that ‘your economic blueprint does not address Nigerians’ needs.”

    The group said the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation runs an issue based campaign where refined language and cerebral arguments founded on facts are used to disseminate the vision of its candidate.

    “Which is why we call on the Buhari Campaign Organisation to waste no time in taking the #BuhariChallenge in clearing the air on these knotty issues bothering the minds of Nigerians.”

     

  • APC governors, state chairmen oppose direct primaries ahead of NEC

    Ahead of the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the governors and state chairmen are opposed to direct primaries – the party’s antidote against imposition of candidates. They prefer indirect primaries.

    Key stakeholders in the party, including some leaders and members of the National Assembly, have opted for direct primary because, in their view, it will give members a say on the choice of their representatives.

    There were fears that the desire for indirect primaries by the governors was designed to give them “total” control and to determine those who will be candidates for various elective posts.

    In an August 17 letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC only indicated that it might adopt indirect or direct system for the presidential primary on September 19.

    The governors and the state chairmen are said to have communicated their preference for indirect primary to National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole.

    The chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) have however left the final decision to the  National Executive Committee (NEC), which will meet on Thursday  in Abuja.

    A source in the party, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is a fresh challenge in the party because the governors are opposed to direct primaries. Some of them seeking second term in office want indirect primaries to make it easier to get the ticket.

    “A few others completing second term prefer indirect primaries to be able to impose their favourites as candidates for various elective offices.

    “The governors, who have influenced state chairmen of the party, are claiming that the time is too short for direct primaries. They are also nursing fears that direct primaries could lead to crises, including violent primaries.”

    It was however learnt that many senators, members of the House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly and governorship aspirants are worried that the governors have been scheming for indirect primaries “to hijack the process.”

    A senator said: “The governors are out to seize the process and give tickets to their cronies. To get quality candidates for 2019 polls, we have to check these governors who want to determine those to be APC flag bearers.

    “Most leaders of the party have opted for direct primaries in view of the huge success the model recorded in Osun State.

    “Popular candidates were not given the opportunity to emerge in the past because the indirect primaries were turned to merchandise.

    “Like the leadership of the party said, it will ensure participation of all registered members. It will be a departure of what obtained in the past, which was monetised.

    “We will resist any plot by the governors to insist on indirect primaries. We learnt that they have forced the state chairmen to adopt indirect primaries.”

    APC Acting National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena said: “All these issues will be tabled at the NEC meeting. Why not wait till after the meeting on Thursday?”

    Oshiomhole on July 17 highlighted the benefits of direct primaries. He said: “We have decided that in order to ensure popular participation, and to deepen democracy in Osun State, in-line with the provision of our party constitution, which allows for either direct or indirect primary, we have resolved that the governorship election primary in Osun State will be conducted on the basis of direct primary.

    “What that means is that every card carrying member of our party will participate in the process of nominating the flag bearer of the party. This, for us, is the most democratic way to conduct election and is in line with what our critical stakeholders from that part of the country wants and we are quite happy to oblige.”

    Oshiomhole said the direct option was to allow more party members to “participate in the process of nominating candidates and to remove issues of corruption or monetising the processes.”

    He said direct primary would also “give party members a sense of ownership of the outcome of the exercise”.

  • Buhari, APC governors to meet Wednesday night

    President Muhammadu Buhari will meet with All Progressives Congress (APC) governors on Wednesday night.

    The meeting slated for 9:00 p.m. will hold at the First Lady Conference hall in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    President is expected to leave the country on a 10- day vacation Friday.

    Details later…

     

  • Buhari, Osinbajo, Saraki, APC governors meet in Aso Villa

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met behind closed doors with Senate President Bukola Saraki and some All Progressives Congress (APC)  governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governors, who were around at the President’s office before Saraki arrived the forecourt of the Presidential Villa at 4.18p.m, moved back into the office with Saraki.

    The governors at the meeting included Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun,  Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Katsina State Governor Bello Masari.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Ekiti State Gov-Elect, Kayode Fayemi were also at the meeting.

    At the end of the meeting which lasted about 30 minutes, the Senate President declined to talk to State House correspondents on the agenda of the meeting.

    However, Kayode casually said they came to rejoice with the President over his election victory.

    Fayemi, who was displaying his Certificate of Return from the INEC, also jokingly said the Ekiti State election had gone and that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will also take over Osun State.

  • Buhari, Saraki, APC governors meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met behind closed doors with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Saraki arrived the Presidential Villa at 4:18 p.m.

    The governors at the meeting were – Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) and Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina).

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Ekiti State Governor-Elect, Kayode Fayemi, were also at the meeting.

  • APC governors move to prevent convention crisis

    Consensus list likely

    AHEAD of the National Convention, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), governors are meeting on Wednesday to agree on candidates for National Working Committee (NWC) posts.

    There were indications yesterday that the governors will present a list of consensus candidates to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to a source, who spoke in confidence, the governors are unhappy with the discordant tunes in some zones over some candidates.

    All APC governors have been notified of the meeting, which will hold on Wednesday night.

    The source gave insights into some issues to be considered by the governors, including the following:

    • the zoning formula – whether it should be retained or not;
    • should there be a total overhaul of the NWC, led by outgoing National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun?
    • won’t it help party cohesion to have a mixed grill of the Oyegun team and new NWC members?
    • how to accommodate the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) Caucus to stave off defection;
    • the need to have an NWC which can make Buhari’s re-election possible.
    • suitable and acceptable candidates for seven key positions, including eight national chairman, National Secretary, Deputy National Chairman(North);  Deputy National Chairman(South); National Organising Secretary, National Publicity Secretary; National Women Leader and National Youth Leader; and
    • averting plot to disqualify some key contestants.

    A governor, who spoke with our correspondent last night, said: “We have just been notified of a meeting of the APC governors on Wednesday night in Abuja on how to work out a rancour-free National Convention and build consensus on some candidates.

    “We have differences but we will no doubt engage in horse-trading; bend backwards to accommodate each other and go to the convention ground without ill-feelings.

    “Some governors would want the party to retain the present zoning formula; others have made a case for an NWC that will have a mixture of those with Oyegun and new members; and a few others have asked APC members to sack all NWC members. We want to hold frank talks and adopt a principle of give and take.”

    Another governor said: “We want to correct the mistakes of the past. This is why we are meeting on Wednesday and we are hopeful that all will be well.”

    The President and some of national leaders, said the source, have opted for ex-Governor Adams Oshiomhole for national chairman. “But suddenly, some governors and party chieftains have been fingered in the aspiration of both ex-Governor Clement Ebri and ex-Governor Oserheimen Osunbor. We do not want anyone to disrespect the President,” the source said.

    “The feelers from the North-East, which is the stronghold of the President, are also not good on the choice of National Secretary. The contestants for the office are the incumbent, Mallam Mai Mala Buni (Yobe); Alhaji Kashim Imam (Borno); Buhari’s ardent supporters, Waziri Bulama; and Dr. Haruna Yerima.

    “Governor Ibrahim Gaidam is insisting on the retention of Buni but some strategists of the President are opposed to him. As at Sunday, all the North-East governors and APC leaders in Taraba State have built a consensus on Buni based on the persuasion of Gaidam.

    “Members of the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) and some presidential strategists are pushing for Bulama in order to enable the President to have a firm control of the party ahead of 2019.

    “If the President does not abide by the choice of the North-East governors, they might pay lip service to his re-election in 2019. What is paining the governors is alleged plot by ex-Governor Modu Ali Sheriff to make his close ally, Kashim Imam, National Secretary. They said Sheriff cannot have his cake and eat it.”

    In the South-East, the battle is between the only APC governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and other APC leaders. Okorocha does not want the National Organising Secretary, Sen. Osita Izunaso, to retain his seat but many governors prefer Osita.

    Another source said the governors were concerned about the grievances of New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) leaders.

    The source said: “We know that the talks between the Presidency and nPDP leaders have been stalled but we want to do our best to accommodate all tendencies that came together to form APC.

    “If we stick to the zoning formula at the formative stage of the party, we believe it will help our cohesion. Otherwise, the nPDP wing will pull out of the party. Some governors are opposed to a winner takes all perspective.

    “A few others want the party to damn the consequences of nPDP leaders. So, we have a crucial session ahead on Wednesday.”

    The Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), who is also a chieftain of APC, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has allayed fears over the convention.

    Okechukwu dismissed such fears.

    He said the convention would be hitch-free because President Muhammadu Buhari remains the presumptive consensus candidate for next year’s presidential election.

    In spite of conflicting reports of parallel congresses, the VON chief envisages a hitch-free national convention on June 23, since the entire tendencies within the party share a common ground in their support for Buhari.

    Okechukwu, who was elected as a delegate to the national convention, predicted that most of the delegates would vote Oshiomole.

    ”Remember that what we operate is a presidential system, where unlike the parliamentary system the supremacy of the party is less profound. Every president in all presidential systems I know, be it in the United States, tailors the cloth of the party to his size.

    “We are lucky that President Buhari is not a power-monger like His Excellency, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who during his tenure took ownership of the PDP and was changing chairmen like wrappers – dropped Solomon Lar of blessed memory, Senator Barnabas Gemade, Chief Audu Ogbe, Dr. Ahmadu Ali amongst others.”

    “In addition those who lost in the congresses are not only loyalists to Buhari, but are aware of the truism that they were swimming against the tide of the provisions of APC’s Constitution, which mandated the National Working Committee, subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee to make rules and regulations for nomination of candidates. Nobody has the right to reverse the national delegates list validly elected during the local government congress.”

    “With such iconic leader, like Buhari loyalty is enhanced. Loyalty to one leader minimizes intra-party conflict. It could have been different if we have two strong presidential contenders.”

    He said their collective support for Mr. President would make it easy for reconciliation and mending of fences in APC after the National Convention and before the 2019 general elections.

    Battle for slots in NWC hots up

    Almost all mambers of the outgoing National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may not return at Saturday’s National Convention of the party, it was learnt at the weekend.

    While some of them including outgoing National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun have opted out, others struggling to return and who claimed to have been endorsed, might still lose out.

    It was learnt that the “endorsement” of  three NWC members from the southeast at a meeting of some of the party leaders in Abuja, has not gone down well with key stakeholders in the region.

    At the meeting, former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu announced that the zone had okayed to return of Senator Osita Izunaso, Chief George Moghalu and Chief Emma Eneukwu as National Organising Secretary, National Auditor and National Vice Chairman (south east).

    But a highly dependable source , said leaders like Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha and a former Senate President Ken Nnamani,are unhappy with the endorsement.

    A source who attended the meeting, described it as stormy adding that all stakeholders were not involved. He added that such a meeting should be held at Enugu, the zonal headquarters.

    He added that the meeting was hurriedly put together which informed the poor attendance of party stakeholders from the south east.

    “Former Senate President Ken Nnamani left midway into the meeting. He did not know the agenda of the meeting before coming and when he knew what they were up to, he left the meeting. He is not in support of the decision to adopt anybody.

    “Okorocha is the only APC governor in the south east for now. Whether you like him or not, there is no way you can hold such an important meeting without his knowledge and you expect the decision from that meeting to be binding,” the source said, adding:

    “We are pushing for people like Chukwuemeka Nwogbo and Oyebuchi Nnamani to take over from George Moghalu and Emma Eneukwu as National Auditor and National Vice Chairman, South East.”

    Another group which called itself Chuba Okadigbo Rainbow Organization is asking President Buhari to honour the memory of his late running mate by including one of his strong supporters, Chidi Nwogu, on the unity list for the office of the National Organising Secretary.

    Senator Izunaso is having a running battle with Governor Okorocha.

    Those opposed to Moghalu are citing his decision to contest for Anambra State governorship ticket, which he failed to pick and then returned to his party position.

    “We expected him to follow the part of honour like Chief Segun Oni did. After failing to pick the Ekiti ticket, Oni did not return tp his party post.

    Other NWC members who are out incude: National Youth Leader Ibrahim Waziri Jalo who is gunning for the governorship ticket in Gombe state, and National Legal Adviser Muiz Banire, who has beaten a retreat having falling out of favour with the Lagos State executive.

    Others are National Woman Leader, Hajia Ramatu Aliyu and National Treasurer Mohammad Gwagwawa, who are believed not to have received the backing of their governors.

    While Gwagwawa is a supporter of Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso who has been having a running battle with Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Hajia Ramatu has lost the confidence of Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello because she was nominated for the job by the late Prince Abubakar Audu.

  • June 12: APC governors visit Buhari

    Governors under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday night met with President Muhammadu Buhari where they congratulated him on his decision to recognize June 12 as Democracy Day.

    Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, who disclosed this to State House correspondents after the closed doors meeting with President Buhari at the First Lady Conference Hall, Aso Rock, Abuja, said the governors also commended the President for the conferment of honours on heroes of democracy.

    President Buhari had on June 6 declared that June 12 be observed as Democracy Day in Nigeria henceforth and conferred national honours on heroes of democracy.

    The President on Tuesday conferred a posthumous Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) honour on the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, late Chief MKO Abiola.

    He also conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) honour on Abiola’s running mate, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe.

    The late foremost human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, was conferred with a posthumous GCON honour.

    Okorocha said the APC governors lauded the action and foresight of President Buhari for taking steps aimed at uniting Nigerians and promoting political stability in the country.

    NAN