Plateau State governor, Simon Bako Lalong, a Christian has been penned down as Director General of presidential Campaign Organisation of Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The appointment which yet to be announced is to douse misgivings occasioned by the same faith presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The decision was taken at a meeting attended by governors on the platform of the APC in Lagos, the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima which started on Monday, 1st August till Tuesday.
Earlier, Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai was the choice of the leadership of the APC as campaign Director General with the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as Chairman of the campaign council.
Things probably changed at a meeting in Lagos between Monday and Tuesday due to uproar rocking the ruling over the choice of presidential running mate that has refused to abate since the announcement of Kashim Shettima.
Whether the choice of Simon Lalong would pacify the Christian community, it’s not yet known, but the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir Lawal, Senator Elisha Abbo representing Adamawa North Senatorial district and other prominent Northern Christian APC members have been in the forefront of attacking the APC for not being sensitive in the choice of the 2023 presidential running mate.
A source close to the meeting said, “Yes, Gov Lalong is the DG. The APC is united and we are committed to saving the country from those who want to divide us on religious lines.”
Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai confirmed that a decision on the campaign Director General has been taken, but hasn’t been officially announced yet.
According to him, other offices are being discussed in order to strengthen the campaign structure.
He said, “A decision has been taken on the Director General, but other positions in the campaign council are still being discussed. The president and the national chairman and the National Working Committee (NWC) will be briefed before a formal announcement.”
He further said the governors were in Lagos to report on the assignment given to them by Tinubu and his running mate to begin broad consultation and develop a structure for the presidential campaign council.
After the meeting, El-Rufai said the presidential candidates are expected to widen their consultation on the presidential campaign council.
“We have done some work on it. We have briefed the candidate and his running mate and inputs have been taken and our hope is that in the shortest possible time the candidate will consult more with the party leadership and brief Mr President and get his input and then we formally unveil the presidential campaign council.”
Other governors who attended the meeting are Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).
