. Why Fayose Was Not Invited
The Presidency says Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara would on Wednesday lead five other governors in paying a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in London.
This was disclosed by three presidential spokespersons, Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu and Laolu Akande, at a press briefing in Abuja.
The other governors would include:
Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state.
Also Presidency has exonerated itself from the selection of the seven governors that were chosen to visit President Muhammadu Buhari in London, saying that the selection was handled by the governors forum.
Briefing State House Correspondents on the visit of seven governors to Buhari, led by the Chairman of Governors Forum and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said the Presidency had no hand in the selection of the delegates to London.h
The delegation has Governors of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, Umar Gandoje of Kano State, Kassim Shettima of Borno State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and Abiola Ajumobi of Oyo state.
Adeshina made the clarification while fielding questions on why Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, who is the Chairman of of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors forum, was left out on the delegation.
“The selection was by the governors forum and you will see that the delegation is headed by governor Yari who is chairman of that forum. So that question should go to the forum,” he replied.
He explained that unlike the previous visit to the president made by only members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) governors, this delegation was on a broader platform, the NGF, with membership also drawn from the opposition.
Adesina however informed that he did not have information on who was sponsoring the trip.
He also clarifiried why the president preferred the broadcast option while addressing Nigerians saying, “It is a question of what he prefers and this is what he prefers for now. He would rather receive that delegation and that is what is happening. If the president opts for address option he will do it.”
He further explained the reason for the visit against the backdrop that it had been reported that President Buhari was recuperating, he said it was the best time for the president to receive visitors as he was recovering.
He said: “Instead of being curious, it should be the right time for the visit. When somebody has recovered or something has happened, it’s in our culture to visit such a person. So, this is the right time to visit the president because the news is that he is recovering and recovering well.”
The presidency also said that the non inclusion of the media team especially television or newspapers could be to save money.
The presidential aide was unable to confirm the date of two weeks time for the return of the president as announced by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state.
It would recalled that Okorocha, who led APC governors and party leaders to see Buhari last Wednesday, had assured that the president could return to Nigeria within two weeks.
However, Adesina insisted that only the president’s doctors could determine his exact date of return.
The spokesman noted that if anybody had put a date on Buhari’s return, the person could have information that is not available to the media team.
“It is in the letter he wrote to the AU chairman which was made public this afternoon (Tuesday). It also contains that one. He said he was just waiting for his doctors to tell him all is well and then he will return home.
“If anybody is giving a timeline, that person might have information that we don’t have yet.
“But the information at our disposal is that the president will return as soon as his doctors give him the go ahead.”