Buhari ordered omission of Osinbajo from Tinubu’s campaign council, says Keyamo

President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the omission of the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, from Bola Tinubu’s campaign council.

The disclosure was made on Saturday by the campaign spokesperson, Festus Keyamo.

The statement cleared the air on speculations that Osinbajo’s removal from the list resulted from his contest against Tinubu in the last APC primary.

The former self-acclaimed Human rights lawyer turned politician said the decision was to allow Osinbajo “concentrate on governance of the country and administration of government.”

422 names for the presidential campaign council were released on Friday, with Osinbajo, Babachir Lawal, and Chukwemeka Nwajiuba’s names omitted.

Keyamo, in the statement, said, “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, SAN, GCON, is not included in the list of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council,” the statement read.

“Nothing can be farther from the facts. For the avoidance of doubt, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, 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, 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 we intend to do this with all sense of responsibility.

“Our candidates and the leadership of the APC have also indicated that the list is not sacrosanct as there may be periodic review of it as circumstances dictate.

“We will not toe the path of those who governed the country in an irresponsible manner before us, and our Party is not in total disarray like those who wish to ‘rescue’ the country but cannot simply manage their own internal affairs.”

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