The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has cleared the air on the exclusion of the names of the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, from the campaign council of Bola Tinubu, its presidential candidate.
The absence of Osinbajo’s name on the 422-man list had attracted different comments.
Also missing from the list are Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, amongst others.
Osinbajo and Nwajiuba had contested the presidential primary of the ruling party with Tinubu, the eventual winner.
Explaining the reason in a statement on Saturday, Festus Keyamo, spokesman of the campaign said that the APC followed the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari who demanded the exclusion of the two top government officials.
He stated further that the President gave the directive so that both men could focus on governance.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to some stories making the rounds that there may be something amiss within the family of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the name of our own revered and respected Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, is not included in the list of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.
“Nothing can be farther from the facts. For the avoidance of doubt, President Muhammadu Buhari is the Chairman of the Campaign Council. As a result, Mr. President has SPECIFICALLY directed that the Vice-President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha should be left out of the Campaign Council to concentrate on the governance of the country and administration of Government.
“As a responsible Party and Government, all the key functionaries of government cannot abandon their positions for electioneering campaigns. The APC has the mandate of the Nigerian people to administer the country on their behalf at least till May, 29, 2023, and this we intend to do with all sense of responsibility.
“Our candidates and the leadership of the APC have also indicated that the list is not sacrosanct as there may be periodic review of it as circumstances dictate. We will not toe the path of those who governed the country in an irresponsible manner before us and our Party is not in total disarray like those who wish to “rescue” the country, but cannot simply manage their own internal affairs.”