30th August, 2023
In what appears to be a damage control, The All Progressives Congress (APC) has disowned the campaign council for Nov. 11, 2023 governorship elections in Bayelsa which has FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike as member.
The party similarly dumped the campaign councils announced by the party’s organising secretary, Suleiman Argungu for Kogi and Imo States.
All the three councils were in circulation in sections of the media on Tuesday.
Mr Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the lists being circulated did not originate from the party and should therefore be disregarded.
“The attention of the APC has been drawn to a national campaign council lists for the Nov. 11, governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States in circulation in sections of the media.
“The lists are not official documents of the party and should be disregarded,” Morka said.
The campaign council for Bayelsa state published by many news platforms, listed the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a member.
This raised a lot of eyebrows as Wike has not officially dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, to which he belongs.
It is believed that the party may not have weighed properly the political implication of the inclusion of Wike on the Bayelsa list.
The council has Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya as chairman. The Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, will serve as co-chairmen.
The list was released by the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, who said the campaign council was put together after the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, consulted with the party’s National Working Committee.
“The National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, in consultation with the National Working Committee, has approved the composition of the Bayelsa State National Gubernatorial Campaign Council with the primary purpose of leading the gubernatorial campaign in Bayelsa state and ensuring the triumph of our great party at the November 11, 2023, governorship election,” the statement read.