The Tinubu/Shettima All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Campaign Council has explained its decision not to nominate Vice President Yemi Osinbajo into the council, saying there was a specific instruction from President Muhammadu Buhari that his vice be exempted.
According to the council, Buhari also instructed that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha be left out of the list.
Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo SAN disclosed this in a statement issued Saturday in Abuja following concerns about the absence of the vice president from the 422-member campaign council unveiled earlier in the day.
Keyamo who is the Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson of the Council, explained that President Buhari took the decision in order to allow for seamless continuation of governance, himself having been appointed as Chairman of council.
Following the release of the list on Saturday morning and the noticeable absence of Prof. Osinbajo, there were speculations that the vice president had rejected advances to have him included in the list on the grounds that he would not be able to defend the party’s resort to a Muslim-Muslim joint presidential ticket.
However, Keyamo said nothing could be farther from the truth.
He said; “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 , GCFR, 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.
“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”.
