The meeting was presided over by the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole
– The party refused to state any reason the governors on its platform remained absent even when they were reportedly invited Most of the governors of Nigerian states on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) reportedly shunned a meeting between the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, and candidates ahead of 2019.
Oshiomhole and the party’s National Executive Committee (NWC) met with governorship candidates, but Premium Times reports that only two governors were present.
The governors present were those of Niger, Sani Bello; and Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong.
The report said the party did not say why the governors refused to attend the meeting even though they were invited.
The national spokesperson of the APC, Lanre Isa-Onilu, refused to take calls or respond to messages sent to him on the matter.
The report said journalists were only allowed to observe the commencement of the meeting which lasted for about two hours.
The party pleaded with the candidates to run an inclusive and issue-based campaign just as it warned leaders in its state chapters against supporting candidates of other parties.
“I call on governorship candidates to run an issue-based campaign based on the unprecedented achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration which is evident in all the states of the federation.
“The party’s governorship candidates should run an inclusive campaign by bringing onboard former aspirants and domesticate ongoing peace and reconciliation efforts undertaken by the National Working Committee (NWC).
“We are obligated as a party to market between now and 20th of March, 2019 not only our party members but to all Nigerians who are of voting age,” the chairman said.
“I thought it is also helpful that the candidates themselves know one another,” Oshiomhole said in his opening address confirming further: “In many states, we have many challenges.
“I guess in some states, some of the executives were able to maintain that level of neutrality and in some other states, the story was different as we read in the newspapers of some state organs interfering with the process.
So, we imagined that there could have been some cries and some quarrels..
“We will play our parts and we should have far more governors after next year’s election than we have at the moment.”
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo recently lambasted Comrade Adams Oshiomhole describing him as a political liability who is on a mission to destroy the ruling party. Okorocha’s comments were in response to a statement credited to Oshiomhole that the Imo governor and his Ogun state counterpart, Ibikule Amosun, are political liabilities who only have one vote, each.
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