Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC), States Assembly Forum (ASAF) has thrown it’s weight behind the APC Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) on their position to support only APC candidates in the election

The PGF at it’s meeting in Abuja last week, insisted that it does not require any form of coalition to win a second term for President Bola Tinubu, stressing that it rejects the fielding of some aggrieved members of the party in other political parties to challenged it’s members

ASAF in a statement issued after it’s meeting and a solidarity Match to the party Headquarters on Thursday in Abuja, expressed it’s support and passed a vote of confidence for the progressive governors, and urged them to maintain the internal unity in the ruling party

The Forum in the statement signed by it’s Director General, Amb. Fubara Dagogo, said the ruling party has all it takes to return p
President Tinubu and all it’s candidates at the various positions in the 2027 general election

It described the rainbow coalition as a distraction that is designed to weaken the ruling party beyond 2027, and there urged the governors to stand firm and reject it

ASAF warned that accepting the rainbow coalition would spell doom for the ruling party, adding that the main target of it’s promoters is beyond the 2027 election

Fubara therefore charged all APC supporters accross the states to stand against the rainbow coalition and it’s candidates, while calling on any individual that admires the APC to come out publicly to join the party, rather that playing games in the name of support for president Bola Tinubu

“We salute the courage of the APC governors to strongly defend our party in the race intruders.The APC and president Bola Tinubu have done so much to be convince Nigerians to return him to power in the 2027 general election

” It is true that the APC have several admirers from the various opposition political parties, but we call on all those individuals and groups who admire us to come out openly and declare for the APC, rather than throw stones from their hiding places in the name of support for our presidential candidate. We will accept them and work with them if they declare for the APC

“We therefore call on all APC supporters to back the decision of our governors to maintain the internal affairs in our party, and reject any other arrangement outside the party. Rainbow coalition is not in the best interest of our party, and we must reject it to remain united,” ASAF stated

From Alex Nwanodim (Umuahia)

Abia state governor, Alex Otti has declared that he would not seek to play the role of a godfather when he finishes his second term in office in 2031

Otti assured that after his second tenure in 2031, his successor will be determined by Abia voters.

The governor, who made the declaration  at the Labour Party State Secretariat in Umuahia on Thursday when he formally received the 2023 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Dr Ngozika Gladys Johnson-Chukwunenye, into the party.said, “What I can assure you is that by the time I am done, the person that will succeed me will be better than me. I don’t want to be a godfather.

“I don’t tolerate godfathers. So, some of the people are making noise because they will tell you to do this, and I say I will not do it. Sometimes when I say no, they will go back and be digging for something.

“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job? And then all of us would agree. And we will campaign for him. He will win. We will take a back seat.”

The governor stated further that, “I am not interested in any other thing. I don’t even want to go to Senate. I am not interested. Once I finish this one, I will retire. Why do I say so? I want the young people to take over.

“You will see young people between the ages of 16 and 25. You will see how smart our children are. So, these are the people that will take over from us. And they are being trained now for tomorrow. So, we can never go back.

“We should stop this sit-tight syndrome. There are smarter, more trained, better trained, better equipped younger people – our children. We need to give them opportunity. And that is what is important to us. It is not about money.”

Speaking on opposition criticisms, Otti said, “I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that we have literally restored those cities – Aba and Umuahia. And we are now moving into the hinterlands. And we will continue until we reach everywhere.

“Some dogs that are barking, we just ignore them. After barking, some of them will lose their voices. But then the ones we can cure, we will help to cure them.”

Earlier, Dr Ngozika Gladys Johnson-Chukwunenye who extolled the leadership qualities of the governor, said her decision to join the Labour Party was to support Otti’s bid after closely following developments in the state and observing the changes and transformation of the state under the present administration

She listed the payment of salary arrears, regular payment of workers, attention to pensioners and the rehabilitation of roads in Umuahia and Aba as some of the developments that influenced her position.

Vice president Kashim Shetimma has clarified his remarks on Wednesday, where he was quoted as claiming that only six northern Nigerian governors supported president Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition in 2023

The vice president, who made the revelation  at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate, said, “You all know that we have 19 states in the North. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu.”

He identified former Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and AbdulRazaq as two of the six governors, but could not name the others, saying he wanted to avoid controversy, adding that Tinubu had reconciled with northern governors who did not support his presidential bid after the 2023 election.

He said, “After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him. That is a mark of a good leader.”

But in a clarification which was made through a statement on Thursday, the Office of the Vice President said Shettima’s comments regarding the support President Bola Tinubu received from northern governors was ahead of the 2022 All Progressives Congress presidential primary.

The Office in the  statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the clarified that Shettima’s reference to six northern governors who “believed in and supported” Tinubu was limited to political consultations and alignments before the APC primary in June 2022.

Nkwocha noted that Shettima’s reference to the six governors was about the period before the APC presidential primary and should not be interpreted as suggesting that northern APC governors did not support Tinubu after he emerged as the party’s candidate.

“The reference by the Vice President to six northern governors who ‘believed in and supported’ President Tinubu was strictly in the context of political consultations and alignments that took place before the APC presidential primary in June 2022.

“After the primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election,” he said.

The Vice President’s office said Shettima holds the northern governors and other APC leaders in high regard and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence.

Nkwocha added that Shettima regretted any interpretation of his remarks that suggested otherwise, saying the clarification was intended to put the comments in their proper context.