…As Dogara shuns meeting with governors
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed support for the Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, for inviting to his state and honouring the South African President, Jacob Zuma, describing it as “excellent.”
The party specifically thanked governor Rochas for uniting the continent of Africa with the erection of President Zuma’s statue in his state.
Governor Okorocha’s decision to erect the statue has been widely criticised as endorsing the governance style of a president who is facing corruption charges in his country.
But speaking Wednesday at party’s national Secretariat during a consultative meeting between the National Working Committee (NWC) and its governors, APC national chairman, Chief John Oyegun, also thanked God for bringing back President Buhari safely from his medical leave in London.
While the Senate was represented by the Senate Leader, his counterpart in the House of Representative, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, did not attend neither did he send any representation.
In his opening remarks, Oyegun said: “Let me use this opportunity to congratulate you (Rochas) on your birthday, young man, where I was very powerfully represented and for your feat in bringing some of the significant figures from the African continent.
“I welcome you to the sixth of the series of our consultative meetings which has proved to be extremely useful not only in stabilizing the party but also contributing immensely towards handling various challenges that have appeared before us as a nation and as a people.
“The meeting got so productive that we decided at last meeting to bring in our National Assembly leaders to joins us in the deliberations which I have said earlier have been found to be very productive and useful indeed.
“I thank you for coming to this first meeting since the return of our dear President from his medical leave. On your behalf, I want to formally welcome him and thank the Almighty God for the wonderful healing that has been performed because since he came back there has been no question at all.”
Seven governors and four deputy governors where present: Nasir el Rufai (Kaduna), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Rochester Okorocha (Imo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Abdullahi Jibrilla Bindo (Adamawa) who was attending the meeting for the first time, as well as the Deputy Governors of Ondo, Kano, Kogi and Nasarawa states were in attendance.
