State Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday said their mission to Daura, Katsina State, was to condole with President Muhammadu Buhari over the loss of two members of his extended family.
The Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo, stated this when he fielded questions from journalists after a closed-door meeting with President Buhari at his private residence in Daura, on Friday.
He dismissed media reports that their mission to Daura was aimed at convincing the president to seek re-election in the forthcoming presidential election in 2019.
He said the governors also used the opportunity to commend the president for appointing former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu, as APC chief mediator.
The president had last week appointed Mr. Tinubu to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
“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,” Mr. Okorocha said regarding 2019 election.
Mr. Buhari has not publicly said he will seek re-election, but it is all but clear the president will.
“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.
Also speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa, said they were in Daura to also sympathise with the president over the involvement of his son, Yusuf, in an auto-accident and the death of his two relatives.
He described the appointment of Mr. Tinubu as APC chief mediator as a wonderful initiative by the President.
“After the condolences, we had some very intimate discussion that further bound our relationships and affinity together and I believe this is a continuation of our closed association and support, loyalty and commitment to Mr. President’s cause and Nigeria’s cause,’’ he said.
The governors who met with the president are the chairman of Governors’ Forum and Zamfara Governor, Abdulaziz Yari; Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Abubakar Muhammed (Bauchi); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Malam Nasir El-Rufa’I of Kaduna State.
Others are Gov. Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa, Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Godwin Obaseki of Edo; Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Abubakar Sani-Bello (Niger) and Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, while the governors of Benue, Osun, and Ogun were represented by their deputies.
The governors of Yobe and Plateau were also represented at the meeting.
(NAN)