Buhari not Tinubu’s campaign council chair

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has urged the public to disregard the list of members of the council being circulated on social media and published by some online news platforms (not The PUNCH).

The Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said the list was not authorised and it was unofficial.

He also noted that the leadership of APC and the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, would formally unveil the campaign council in due time.

Some online medium reported that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had been appointed the chairman of the presidential campaign council.

The platform claimed that this was a decision reached at a meeting between the presidential candidate of the party and the governors elected on the platform of the party on Wednesday in Abuja.

Tinubu was said to have also been appointed as the Deputy Chairman (1), while the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was said to have been appointed Deputy Chairman (2).

The Kebbi State Governor and Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu, and Senator Godswill Akpabio were appointed vice chairmen.

Others said to have been appointed as vice vhairmen were APC vice-presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the only female presidential aspirant of the party during the June 2022 special national convention, Uju Kennedy.

A former National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomole, was also said to have been made Deputy Director-General, Operations, Hadiza Bala Usman was appointed Deputy Director-General, Admin; James Faleke (Secretary), while Christopher Takar was appointed Deputy Secretary.

The council was said to have 14 directorates in the campaign council, while the governors would head the Zonal Campaign Coordinators for the six geo-political zones.

“The Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, would serve as coordinator for North Central; Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya (North-East); the Governor of Zamfara, Bello Matawale (North-west); Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade (South-South); and Imo Governor, Hope Uzodinma, South-East,” part of the report stated.

However, Onanuga, in a statement sent to Saturday PUNCH titled, ‘Disregard the list of APC presidential campaign council members in circulation’, noted that the party understood the interest of the general public in the APC and did not approve that list.

Onanuga also urged the media to exercise more restraint in the “dissemination of information that is not correct”.