2019: Why we didn’t give automatic ticket to Buhari- Dogara

2019: Why we didn’t give automatic ticket to Buhari- Dogara

Wednesday, November 1, 2017 8:05 am


President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, attended APC – NEC Meeting with other party chieftains at the party headquarters in Abuja. PHOTO: NOVO ISIORO

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) did not pass a motion to grant President Muhammadu Buhari automatic ticket to run as the presidential candidate of the party for the second term because it was not on its agenda.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara who revealed this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the NEC meeting on Tuesday however noted that members of the party passed a vote of confidence on the President based on his performance.

He added that the party reviewed its activities in the past year at the NEC meeting and also took decisions on how to reshape its future.

“Even though there was a motion from the floor that called for a vote of confidence on the president, some of us felt it was not necessary because there is nowhere that his confidence is shaken. But the motion was taken and passed.

“But there was a second leg to that motion which called for the adoption of the candidature of the president, but it was deferred and no decision was taken on it because that was not the major reason why we were here,” Dogara told journalists.

While corroborating Dogara, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said a member of the party brought up the issue of automatic ticket for the President which was not discussed at the meeting.

But some governors elected on the platform of  APC, however, told journalists before the commencement of the meeting that they would support Buhari for second term.

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State told journalists that all the APC governors would work for a return ticket for Buhari.

“I want to say that if Mr. President is performing, is well respected and carrying everybody along, all of us have resolved that we will work for him. Do we have any other person that will challenge the president again? Whatever you call it, as far as we are concerned, we have one president and that is the ticket we will fly.

“I want to assure you that you won’t see any wrangling after the meeting. From now onwards it will be focused governance from Mr. President and all the governors from the states. We have all resolved to support Mr. President,” Lalong added.

Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu also said he would support Buhari for second term based on his “sterling performance”.

“I think for APC members, it is a democratic party, but the performance of the president in the last two and a half years suggests that if he wants to contest, I will certainly support him and I know that our party members feel the same way about him,” he said.


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