By: Our Correspondent
Why Buhari, Others Were Absent In APC NEC Meeting
Reasons have started to emerge as to why former President Muhammadu Buhari and immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai and former Transportation Minister Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi didn’t attend the just concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja.
Our Correspondent gathered in Abuja, the nation’s capital that Buhari’s spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu reportedly said that the former President received his invitation to the meeting very late.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa programme, Garba Shehu said, “Buhari Received His Invitation Too Late” and explained that his absence was due to the late invitation which made it impossible for him to travel from Daura to Abuja on time for the meeting.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is not a caucus member of the party. He was supposed to attend the NEC meeting, but unfortunately, the invitation to the meeting was forwarded to him on Monday and it reached him on Tuesday. For this, he could not leave Daura for Abuja even if he owns a private jet,” Shehu stated.
Our Correspondent observed that the high-profile meeting which was presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, APC governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and other key stakeholders except former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi.
However, Garba, in the programme assured that Buhari remained aligned with the APC and its leadership, dismissing any speculation that his absence signalled disengagement from party affairs.
According to him, “Buhari is a founding member of the APC. He was nominated by the party for president twice. He is a member of the APC, even though he did not attend the meeting. Even though the former president was absent from the meeting physically, his spirit was with the attendees.”
We could not immediately contact Nasir El Rufai and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for their comments. But we can confirm that the meeting came at a time of growing internal divisions within the ruling party, with some aggrieved party chieftains openly expressing concerns over the party’s direction.
While President Tinubu used the meeting to call for reconciliation and unity, the absence of these bigwigs has raised further questions about ongoing rifts within the ruling party.
