President Muhammadu Buhari says he is fully in support of all candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Reacting to insinuations that he did not campaign for Imo state governorship candidate of the party, Hope Uzodinma, during his rally in Owerri on Tuesday, Buhari assured members of the party that he was fully behind the party and its candidates in every state of the federation, and campaigns for them wherever he goes.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, presidential aide, Garba Shehu, said: “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.”
According to him, President Buhari’s awareness of the mixed crowd was the reason why he did not speak only about support for the APC during the campaign, but also encouraged the people to vote according to their consciences.
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“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.”
Shehu maintained that Buhari’s open endorsement of Hope Uzodinma, the APC governorship candidate in Imo State, was implied by the President raising his hand 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.
Recall that the APC governorship candidate in Imo, Hope Uzodinma and the governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha have been at daggers drawn.
