The All Progressives Congress governors, on Friday, held a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari for almost two hours at his home town, Daura, Katsina State.
Although the governors did not disclose what transpired during the meeting, there were indications that issues relating to the 2019 general elections could have been discussed.
The Minister for Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, was also present at the meeting. Amaechi was reported to have been appointed as the Chairman of the Buhari 2019 presidential election campaign.
Amaechi and Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el Rufai arrived at President Buhari’s residence shortly after the arrival of the other governors.
The minister and the governor were also the first to leave the venue of the meeting. They left in the convoy of two buses that brought them from Katsina.
The governors at the meeting included Katsina Governor, Aminu Masari; his counterparts from Zamfara and Sokoto states, Abdulazeez Yari and Aminu Tambuwal.
Others were Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Jigawa(Baderu); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Abdulfatahi Ahmed (Kwara) and Kashim Shettima (Borno).
Governors Abiola Ajimobi Godwin Obaseki and Rochas Okorocha of Oyo, Edo and Imo states were also in attendance.
The governors, who first converged on the Umoru Musa Yar Adua International Airport in Katsina, left for Daura by road in two buses provided by the Katsina State Government, a few minutes after 1 pm.
Sources said aside from visiting President Buhari to collectively condole with him for the recent death of two of his relatives, discussions on issues concerning 2019 were not being ruled out.
One of the sources said that the meeting would prepare grounds for the 2019 presidential campaign of the President.
But the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Okorocha, stated that the governors were in Daura to condole with Buhari over the death of two members of his extended family.
He was quoted as saying this while fielding questions from journalists after the meeting. He dismissed media reports that their mission to Daura was aimed at convincing the President to seek re-election in 2019.
He said the governors also used the opportunity to commend the president for appointing Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the APC chief mediator.
The president had last week appointed Tinubu to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
Okorocha stated, “We have yet to discuss that (Buhari re-election). That would be in next meeting where we will discuss whether we want to support him to run or not.
“But for now, we came on the issue of the death of his two relatives and to commend him for the action taken on Tinubu as a conciliator,’’ he said.
Also speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa, noted that they were in Daura to also sympathise with the President over the involvement of his son, Yusuf, in a ghastly auto-accident.
