Presidency struggles to defend Buhari on statement at Owerri rally

• Says Buhari is for all APC candidates, welcomes cross-party support

The Presidency has since the presidential campaign in Owerri, Imo State, on Tuesday been struggling to defend President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections, over his statement at the rally on mobilizing support for APC candidates in the state. Imo APC had been divided between loyalists of Governor Rochas Okorocha and Senator Hope Uzodimma who is being sponsored by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

Attah Esa, Deputy Director of Information, State House, Abuja, in a stamen on Wednesday indicated that President Muhammadu Buhari has assured members of APC that he is fully behind the party and its candidates in every state of the Federation, and campaigning for them wherever he goes.

He noted that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a media interaction on Wednesday, dismissed insinuations that President Buhari did not show full support for the APC while campaigning in Imo State, a state that has made headlines recently for the fractiousness within the ruling party there which has led to disagreements with the state governor, Rochas Okorocha.

Shehu had declared: “The massive crowd that gathered to welcome President Buhari in Imo State was made up of not only supporters of the APC in the state, but also supporters of other parties who are united by their love for the President and their desire to see him re-elected, despite the local candidates they support.”

The SSA explained that Buhari’s consciousness of the obviously-mixed crowd was the reason he did not speak only about support for the APC during the campaign but also encouraged the people to vote according to their conscience.

 “While President Buhari is fully behind APC, he welcomes endorsements from those who do not belong to the ruling party but is also sensitive to their support for non-APC candidates at the local level. It would have been insensitive of him to offend his non-APC supporters by ignoring their local affiliations,” Garba Shehu said.

 Shehu noted President Buhari’s open endorsement of Hope Uzodinma, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Imo State, whose hand the President raised high before the crowd at the campaign rally.

“President Buhari is for the APC in every state and there is no doubt about that, despite his immense cross-party support,” he said.