The leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday, engaged in a crucial meeting with the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
The meeting saw a heavy presence of stern-looking policemen roving the area as the popular Blantyre Street was cordoned as a measure to control both human and vehicular traffic near the party secretariat.
In attendance at the meeting were Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; his counterpart in Zamfara, Bello Matawalle; Jigawa Governor, Abubakar Badaru; Sani Bello of Niger State; Kano Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje; Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong; Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
The meeting, which started at 12.00 noon, was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.
Addressing journalists before the crucial political roundtable, Adamu said the meeting was to essentially interact with the APC governors who he described as custodians of the party in their various states.
He said, “Being the chief executive officers of their various states, the onus of our great party lies in the hands of God and in their hands because they are the commanders of the party fortunes in their various states. We cannot make meaningful progress without them in the affairs of these states, particularly in an election year that is approaching.
“We cannot plan without the buy-in of our governors so that we can stand together, believing that we share the same aspirations. We will plan together to see how best we can deliver the interest of the party and ensure that victory is ours in the 2023 general election that is by the corner. That is the essence of this meeting.”
Reacting to Adamu’s invitation for the meeting, Lalong, who stood in for Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu, said they found it heartwarming to return to the party after the last convention.
“We are very happy our party is moving well. Today we have an invitation of the national chairman and that invitation also went to the campaign council. So the Progressive Governors Forum invited the campaign council to a meeting and that is why you can see the meeting came jointly with progressive governors (who) are also part of the campaign council for proper briefing,” he said.
The development is coming few hours after a strategic planning committee of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council met behind closed doors in Abuja on Tuesday evening to review the growing membership list.
The meeting, chaired by Lalong, who is also the Director General of the council, started a bit late at the PCC office in Abuja.