Buhari meets with APC governors in Katsina

We Came To Condole Him Over Relatives Death, Not 2019, Say Govs

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday held a closed-door meeting with state governors of the All Progressive Congress (APC) at his Daura hometown in Katsina state.

Most of the governors, along with their aides, came into the state in four chartered flights through the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Airport and proceeded to Daura by road, a journey of over 70 kilometres, for the meeting, which commenced about 2.30pm and lasted for about one hour.

It was no clear what the meeting’s agenda was, some of the governors insisted that they came to condole the President over the death of two of his relatives and not about the possibility of his seeking a second term next year.

The President had on Thursday evening arrived the airport in Katsina, from where he flew to Daura in a helicopter.Governors that attended the meeting include Zamfara’s Abdulaziz Yari, who doubles as Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto.Others were Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Tanko Al-makura (Nasarawa), Sani Bello (Niger) and Godwin Obaseki (Edo), while the governors of Lagos, Ogun and Benue were represented. 

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Okorocha, who is the Chairman of the Progressive (APC) Governors Forum, dismissed reports that their mission was to convince Buhari to seek re-election in the 2019 presidential election. He said the governors also used the opportunity to commend the President for appointing Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as APC Chief Mediator.

“We are yet to discuss that. That would be in next the meeting, where we will discuss whether we want to support him to run or not.“But for now, we came on the issue of the death of his two relatives and to commend him for action taken on Tinubu as a conciliator,’’ he said.Al-Makura said they were in Daura to also sympathise with the President over the involvement of his son, Yusuf, in a ghastly auto accident and the death of his two relatives.