The spokesperson of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was excluded from the list of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC had released the 422-member list of the party’s campaign council on Friday night with President Buhari as the Chairman and the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the Deputy Chairman.

The APC National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, is the Deputy Chairman (2), while the party’s vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, is the Vice Chairman.

Osinbajo’s name was however missing in the list, which elicited reactions from Nigerians.

Other notable APC members omitted included former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; and former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.

However, Keyamo, in a statement issued on Saturday said Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were not included in the APC Presidential Campaign Council because Buhari asked them to be dropped to concentrate on governance.

Keyamo, who is the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, stated: “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.

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“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, Mr. 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 this we intend to do 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,” the statement read.

The Star