All the 24 governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday announced their endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s candidature for the 2019 presidential election.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State made the position of the governors known to State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with the President at the Presidential villa, Abuja.
The President had at the last APC National Executive Committee meeting declared his intention to run for second term in 2019.
Okorocha told correspondents that they communicated their support for the President’s reelection bid at the meeting.
He said: “We came to welcome him back and to commend him for his boldness and courage to declare his intention to run for second term as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which we the 24 governors of the APC duly support.
“And we have come to encourage him that he must go ahead with his vision to rescue Nigeria from its present challenges.”
According to Okorocha, the meeting also addressed the issue of the forthcoming convention and congresses in order to make it hitch-free.
He said the President and governors had resolved to produce a strong party chairman that could deliver tangible results for the party in the forthcoming general election.
He added: “We also agreed that we will not allow the issue of many contestants to destroy our party.”
The governor, who is also the Chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, dismissed the assertion that the meeting was convened to endorse former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole, as next APC National Chairman.
He, however, disclosed that the governors would soon make their stand known on the issue, adding that the “public will be duly briefed in due course”.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who was part of the meeting, also disclosed that a new leadership of the APC from the ward to local government, state and federal levels might emerge through consensus.
Those who attended the meeting included Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as well as the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
APC state governors in attendance were Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Simon Lalung of Plateau State, Jubrila Bindow of Adamawa State and Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State.
Others were Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano State, Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, Tanko Al-Makura of Nassarawa State, Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State.
In all, 17 governors attended, while two were represented by their deputies.
Seven governors were absent.
The were Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), were absent.
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