The Presidency has released a statement saying that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections, will only campaign for the party and all APC candidates.
Malam Garba Shehu who made this known in a statement while reacting to media enquiries over the hosting of Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Sunday.
Amosun was accompanied by the Ogun state governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Abdulkadir Adekunle Akinlade, during the visit.
The statement read: “Following repeated media enquiries on the matter, the Presidency wishes to state in clear and unmistakable terms that as a party leader and a candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections, President Muhammadu Buhari will campaign for the party and all APC candidates.
“This, however, does not mean that he, as the nation’s leader, will decline courtesy calls or offers of support from citizens including candidates flying the flags of other parties.
“There is no doubt that the President has no competition here in terms of popularity in the coming elections. But the more support he gets, the wider the margin of victory there will be.
“So please let there be no confusion about this. President Buhari is APC. He will campaign for all APC candidates, but he welcomes support and endorsements.’’
According to a report by NAN, prior to Sunday’s meeting with the president, Amosun, accompanied by the APM National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, had in Dec. 2018, met with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Amosun, at the meeting, presented a letter of adoption of the President by APM as the party’s presidential candidate in Feb. 16 general elections.
The governor said the endorsement letter was given to him by the party for onward presentation to the president, adding that with the endorsement, Buhari, whom he described as a man with good heart, would garner massive votes in the 2019 presidential elections.
The report also said that the President and his visitors, at the end of today’s visit, had group photograph where they all demonstrated the “4 + 4’’ symbol with their fingers, meaning another four years for governing APC in Presidential Villa.
Amosun’s ‘consensus’ candidates for the governorship election (Akinlade) and state assembly elections are contesting under the banner of APM.
But, the governor is contesting for the Ogun central senatorial seat as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress.