Osibanjo, Dogara Missing as APC Releases Presidential Campaign Council List
Vondigest reports that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has constituted its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for the 2023 candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu.
The council list, which comprises about 422 members, was released on Friday by the PCC Secretary, James Faleke, a federal lawmaker.
The 422-man list has names of political heavyweights including APC governors, ministers, lawmakers, ambassadors as well as serving and past public office holders.
This is following weeks of anxiety and serial postponements, finally the presidential campaign council list of the flagbearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was released with several notable names of party chieftains missing.
However, there are shocking omission of party stalwarts, many of whom have been at loggerheads or engaged in cold war with Tinubu over his preference for the contentious Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Conspicuously missing is Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who contested against Tinubu. The VP was Commissioner for Justice when the APC flagbearer was governor.
Others include: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and one of Tinubu’s sweat merchant, Adebayo Shittu, who heads one of his biggest support groups — Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance.
However, ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, first runner-up at the primary, was named Special Adviser on Infrastructure.
President Muhammadu Buhari is the PCC Chairman, Tinubu is the Deputy Chairman, and APC National Chairman, Deputy Chairman II.
Vice Presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima is the Vice Chairman; Plateau Governor Simon Lalong, Director General; Adams Oshiomhole, Deputy Director, Operations Hadiza Usman, Deputy Director, Administration.
Others who made the list include hundreds of former and serving Governors, Senators, House of Representatives members and Ministers.
The rest are government officials, party elders (Campaign Patrons) and chieftains in States, women and youth leaders, as well as thespians.
APC Governors (and governorship candidates) will serve as the Coordinator of their States. In addition to the role, a few of them will also act as Zonal Coordinator or Special Adviser.
The Directors are Festus Keyamo, Public Affairs; Femi Fani-Kayode, New Media; Bayo Onanuga, Media and Publicity; Mohammed Idris, Strategic Communications; Aminu Jaji, Contact and Mobilization.
Bello Goronyo, Youth Mobilization; Birnin Kudu, Parliamentarian; Mustapha Muhaja, Campaign Planning; Wale Edun, Finance; Babatunde Fashola, Election Planning and Monitoring.
Gbemisola Saraki, Trade and Economic; Bobboi Kagama, Labour; Abike Dabiri, Protocol and Events; Nuhu Ribadu, Stakeholders Relations; Musa Babayo, Policy and Research; Ade Omole, Diaspora.
Hassan Liman, Legal; Jubril Abdulmalik, Intelligence and Security; Kolade Alabi, Local Government; Musiliu Obanikoro, SDGs; Ayuba Gufwan, PWD; Jack Rich, Fund Raising; Zack Orji, Performing Arts, among others.
This online platform gathered that while the camp of Osinbajo had distanced itself from the former Lagos governor after his emergence as winner of the APC presidential ticket, the duo of Dogara and Lawal had remained a perennial thorn in Tinubu’s flesh for selecting ex-Borno Governor Senator Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as running mate.
Dogara had predicted on Tuesday that the adoption of a Muslim-Muslim ticket was a fruitless political effort that was “doomed to end in spectacular failure.”
The ex-speaker made the statement while delivering his keynote address at a summit tagged ‘Meet The Church,’ organised by the Nigeria National Christian Coalition.
Lawal, on the other hand, vowed that the introduction of a same-faith ticket by the APC was a deliberate plan to further create divisions in the north.
The disgruntled former SGF, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television, declared that he was working with about 40 Christian leaders in the north to ensure that the contentious APC ticket failed.
