JUST IN – BUHARI SEES TINUBU AND OTHERS AT VILLA

Late on Wednesday, at the State House in Abuja, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), had a meeting with Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate.

The meeting is thought to have taken place between 10:00 and 11:00 at night.

Since the President’s return to Abuja last Sunday following a weeklong US-African Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, this is Tinubu’s first known encounter with the President.

Details of the topics covered were not available to the public at the time of this study.

The Presidency declared on Wednesday night that Buhari is prepared to support Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential nominee, and all other contenders with “full enthusiasm and conviction.”

Concerns were raised inside the APC that the President had not been in campaigns since the national launch in Jos, Plateau State, in mid-November.

While Buhari remains devoted to party politics, the Presidency has stated that his powers and duties as the country’s top executive would take precedence.

Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement signed on Wednesday headed ‘President Buhari ready to campaign with enthusiasm and conviction for Tinubu and other APC candidates.’

According to Shehu, the President “assures the All Progressives Congress and its candidates in the elections next year that he will campaign for the Presidential Candidate and all party candidates with “full zeal and conviction” at all times.

“This is to assuage stated worries in some quarters that the President has not been in campaigns since the national launch in Jos, Plateau State, and to emphasize that, while he remains devoted to party politics, the President’s roles and obligations would be upheld at times.”

The Presidency stated that Buhari “is ready to campaign for the party’s victory in the general elections next year,” citing the President’s speech to the Nigerian community in Washington DC during his recent visit to the United States.

The APC campaigns were also rated as the most aggressive in recent history by the Presidency.

“They’ve been impressive and high-voltage in comparison to the opponent, which appears to be playing catch-up,” it stated.