LEADERSHIP recalls that eyebrows were raised over the absence of Tinubu and governors of Lagos, Osun and Oyo states at the campaign rallies of the party ‘s gubernatorial candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Speaking to State House Correspondents yesterday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa,Governor Lalong, who is also the chairman of the Ondo campaign committee for the APC, hinted that Tinubu’s absence may be due to ill health .
He expressed confidence that following the reception and turnout at the grand finale rally, he is not in doubt that APC will win the election in Ondo.
According to him, other parties are scared of the APC and not APC being scared of other parties saying he came to thank the President for going to Ondo for the grand finale rally.
Asked on the absence of Tinubu and some South West governors at the Saturday rally,he said, “There was not a problem. We explained their absence. They sent in their apologies. You heard what happened there. As far as we are concerned, the President who is the leader of the party was at the rally. The national chairman was also there, as far as we are concerned, everybody was there.
“To the party, their absence did not make any difference. If a leader was not there and he has said he was not there because of ill-health, we have prayed that God will heal him.”
Meanwhile for the second time in three weeks, Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko held a close door meeting with President Buhari at the Villa.
LEADERSHIP had reported that the first meeting the governor had with the President was to seek for a soft landing as he perfect moves to defect to the APC.
However speaking with State House Correspondents yesterday after the meeting, Mimiko denied the reports saying he came to brief the president on the security situation in his state .
When reminded of his frequent visit to the president,the governor said this is his second visit to the villa since the crisis in Peoples Democratic Party started over who is the authentic candidate in Saturday ‘s gubernatorial polls adding that as the chief security officer of his state, if there is any credible threat to security, he owes the responsibility to brief the President on happenings in his state.
According to him, President Buhari was in Ondo to campaign for his party and as courtesy demands received and saw him off at the airport as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not APC.
He said :I understand that people have speculated that this means I am going to APC. There is nothing of such. I only extended him normal courtesy that protocols demand.
As a governor and security officer of the state, if the president is visiting, no matter the party he belongs, it is only appropriate for me to extend the courtesy to him. That was what I did in Akure.And I have also come to brief him about the security situation in my state.
On the rumoured plan of the Makarfi led faction of the PDP to float another party if the crisis in the party persists, he said ,” I am just concentrating on the case of my party in court.
credit: Leadership
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