Nine Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, held a one-hour closed-door meeting with the President Muhammadu Buhari in his Daura private residence, Katsina State.
The APC governors also declared their support for Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate to the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The APC Governors further disclosed that they had confidence in the combination of Tinubu and Shettima to ensure victory for the party at the presidential election.
The Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Bagudu, spoke to journalists on the essence of their closed-door meeting with Buhari.
He said, “We were pleasantly surprised when Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu announced in Daura on Sunday that Senator Kashim Ibrahim Shettima was the Vice Presidential candidate.
“We were happy that it is no less a person than Senator Shettima who was announced the Vice Presidential candidate. No doubt, Senator Shettima would complement the good qualities of Asiwaju Tinubu. We are very very happy at the choice. The two will complement each other and will surely consolidate on the achievements of the President in the past seven years.”
Bagudu also stated that their visit to Daura was to felicitate Buhari over Sallah.
In his own comment, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma stated that Shettima’s choice as the vice presidential candidate was a collective decision by all the Progressives Governors, saying that all the governors would work hard to ensure victory for the APC in the 2023 elections.
He said, “The choice of Senator Shettima as the vice presidential candidate is a collective decision. We shall work hard to ensure victory in all our states.”
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong also said while the choice of the vice presidential candidate was the prerogative of the presidential candidate, all the APC governors would work to ensure the party’s victory at the 2023 general elections
The nine governors had earlier held a closed door meeting with Buhari which lasted for more than one hour before briefing journalists over the matters arising.
The APC governors at the Monday’s closed door meeting with Buhari included: Aminu Masari (Katsina); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi); Abubakar Bello (Niger); Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa); Hope Uzodimma (Imo); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna)
They were led by the Chairman, Progressives Governors’ Forum, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State.
All the APC governors except el-Rufai had travelled by road from Katsina where Governor Aminu Masari led them as chief host.
They later drove into Daura’s private residence of the President a few minutes after one in the afternoon, shortly after which the meeting started. The Kaduna State Governor later joined them at the meeting.
