THE Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council has cleared the air on the exclusion of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo from the 422-member council.
James Faleke, a serving member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, and secretary to the council, released the list early Saturday morning.
Scores of media reports have beamed their searchlight on Osinbajo, whose name was conspicuously missing from the team.
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But in a swift reaction, the council, through its Director of Public Affairs and chief spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, who is also the minister of state for Labour and Employment, said the exclusion of the vice president and other top government officials was to block the vacuum that would be created in government if all functionaries made up the list.
Keyamo stated, “Our attention has been drawn to some stories making the rounds that there may be something amiss within the family of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the name of our own revered and respected Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is not included in the list of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.
“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, Mr President has 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.”
The council said the APC would not toe the path of those who it claimed irresponsibly governed the country before it came into power in May 2015.
It also said its fold was not in “total disarray like those who wish to ‘rescue’ the country, but cannot simply manage their internal affairs.”
Concerns have mounted over Osinbajo’s exclusion from the council because he contested the party’s presidential primary with Tinubu and lost.
The vice president is largely considered a political son of the former Lagos State governor.
While four presidential aspirants from the South-West, where both Tinubu and Osinbajo hail from, stepped down for the former, Osinbajo went to the poll against the eventual flagbearer.
The Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi; a former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; a serving senator, Ajayi Borrofice; and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, vied for the party’s ticket from the South-West region but stepped down for Tinubu.
Tinubu got 1,271 votes in a landslide victory at the primary conducted between June 6 and 8 in Abuja.
He was followed by a former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who got 316 votes, and Osinbajo, who scored 235 votes.
Meanwhile, Osinbajo was among those Tinubu visited shortly after his victory at the primary.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ [email protected]