The Tinubu Campaign Organization has finally presented a 422-member Campaign Council ahead of next year’s presidential election after weeks of procrastination.
On the list of 69 campaign patrons are Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, and Zainab Asipita Ogundana.
The list, which was made public in the wee hours of Wednesday, includes a number of presidential contenders who squared off against the party’s standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the June Special Presidential Convention of the party.
Surprisingly, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who also ran for the APC nomination despite being close to Tinubu, is not included on the list, fueling long-standing rumors of a conflict between him and his former political godfather, Tinubu.
Later in the day, the Campaign Organization stated Osinbajo’s name was omitted from the list per the president’s instructions in an effort to alleviate any worries.
Osinbajo and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, according to the Campaign Council, were intentionally left off the team at Buhari’s command.
It said that internal disputes within the APC were not the cause of the action.
The Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council’s Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson, Mr. Festus Keyamo, stated the President begged that they be excluded so that they may focus on state-related issues.
His words: “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, the President 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 irresponsibly governed the country before us and our party is not in total disarray like those who wish to ‘rescue’ the country, but cannot simply manage their internal affairs.”
The Council also acknowledged that it had made a mistake when it announced Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State, as a member.
Former Senate President Senator Ken Nnamani and Campaign Council Director of Media and Publicity Mr. Bayo Onanuga were the people who ought to have been mentioned, it was made clear.
Chimaroke Nnamani is a senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a senator for Enugu East, and an ally of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate.
On the list of the Campaign Council’s 422 members, the senator’s name appeared as number 350 and as a representative of the Local Government Directorate.
Last month, Chimaroke Nnamani called Tinubu a capable politician but declared he would support his own party’s nominee.
Onanuga lamented the confusion and suggested that it might have been caused by the fact that Ken, another well-known politician from Enugu, shares the same last name as Chimaroke.
“It is an error. It should be Ken Nnamani,” he said.
Before the clarification, an aide to Chimaroke Nnamani said the announcement should be ignored.
“Chimaroke is a PDP Senator. He has a PDP re-election ticket. How can he be in Tinubu’s campaign council? Please, ignore it, “ he said.
