The Spokesman for All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has said there is no synergy between Bola Tinubu and the National Working Committee of the party.
Newsonline reports that Festus Keyamo stated this in reaction to a letter purported to have emanated from the party’s national chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, expressing the discontentment of the NWC with the composition of PPC members.
Keyamo said the allegation by the national chairman of the APC as contained in the letter that the NWC did not vet the list was wrong.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment further added that the 422 list released was the first batch of list of members needed to run the campaign council. He added that the second batch of list will be released which will have about 2000 members to ensure that NWC, Adamu and governors candidates were included.
Keyamo said, “All their nominees will be included. The list was released in two parts. The one we released was the first one. In the coming days, more than 2,000 additional names will be released.
“For instance, in my directorate which is public affairs, you will see only three names. And, of course, you know only three persons cannot run my department for the whole country.
“Even under Bayo Onanuga in media and publicity, there are only three or four names there. That also cannot run a whole campaign.
“Now, what we are saying is that with the release of the membership cadre, we will now have more than 100 people under each directorate, including mine.
“That’s why I said there is absolutely nothing to fear. The 422-member list is not all the people nominated for our campaign. You know we are more organised than those other people who are falling every day. So, don’t worry.’’
READ ALSO: Peace Accord: 2023 Is More Than An Election- President Buhari Warns INEC
Festus, speaking on the the NWc allegation that they were not allowed to vet the PCC list before making it public, disclosed that there is no synergy between the presidential candidate (Tinubu) and the National Working Committee members.
Keyamo added, “They were allowed to scrutinize it. There was a proper synergy between the candidate and the NWC. Beyond the second batch, we still have the governors and governorship candidates who will attend to their state campaign councils.”
He added“We are to further review their names to be on the nominees’ list. I am talking about the campaign council members at the state level. That one is still coming. Here, we will have chairman, deputy chairman, media publicity for different states. You can see the first list is nothing compared to the remaining ones we have compiled. I am sure by the time we unveil all the membership lists, the other political parties will run away,” he noted
In the early hours of Friday, Keyamo, again in reaction the interets being raised by both the NWC and governors of the party tweeted, “Whilst people are rejecting appointments into Campaign Councils in other parties, for the largest party @OfficialAPCNg, it’s a struggle to get in. The difference is clear. This is sweet headache. For those who think the jungle has matured, they ain’t seen anything yet. Just wait!”
Acording to the letter written by Adamu on behalf of the NWC, “On behalf of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, I present my compliments to Your Excellency, and have the honour to convey to you, in truth and respect, the committee’s opinion and position, regarding the above-mentioned subject matter, with a view to having a clear understanding about the respective roles and responsibilities of the principal organs of the party charged with the duties of conducting the campaigns in the forth-coming general elections.
“This correspondence has become necessary in view of developments that took place over the last few days around the purported appointments into the Presidential Campaign Council that was announced precipitately by officials of the council, without making recourse to the NWC for approval.
‘’All along, the NWC had been disposed towards the campaign in a cooperative spirit that is driven by the overall interest of the party and the singular desire of victory for our candidates, in the persons of your esteemed self and your running mate.
“It is against this background that the NWC received with astonishment and regret, the press release by the PCC on 23rd September 2022, in which a purported list of appointees was announced, which effectively served as the approved roster of participants in the party’s Presidential Campaign Council.
“The purported list not only came as a complete surprise to the NWC and the party’s leadership, but also contravened the principles and purposes of the arrangements that you and I had led towards the adoption of the organogram of the PCC, and its principal officials.
“Perhaps, it has become necessary owing to the passage of time, that I should draw Your Excellency’s attention to the agreements that we reached in principle around the final adoption of the PCC list, based on the understanding that it was a work in progress, until such a time that the Joint NWC/PCC Committee that was established to formalise the structure and populate the list, submits its report.
“Your Excellency will no doubt recall our meetings in my office and also at the NWC conference room at the party’s National Secretariat, on Wednesday, 7th September 2022, during which we discussed the details of the organogram of the PCC and its composition, as a collaborative project between the two entities.
‘’Our recollection of those meetings clearly leaves us in no doubt that a breach of agreement has occurred, and that a return to the principles of cooperation and respect for each other is required.’’
