APC Disowns Bayelsa Guber Campaign Team, Deletes Wike's Name, Withdraws List

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied releasing any campaign council lists for Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo gubernatorial elections.

The off-cycle elections would be held on November 11.

In a post on platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, APC’s Organising Secretary, Muhammad Argungu, said National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, approved the constitution of the campaign councils in consultation with the national working committee (NWC).

In the now disowned lists, Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, was to lead APC’s campaign council for the Kogi governorship.

While Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, was listed to spearhead the party’s campaign council in Bayelsa, Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, was appointed to be in charge of Imo.

The Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo campaign councils had 135, 123, and 138 members, respectively.

Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mohammed Bago, and Uba Sani of Lagos, Niger, and Kaduna, respectively, were members of the Kogi campaign council.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume; and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Betta Edu, were appointed members of the Bayelsa campaign council.

For Imo, Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu; and a former governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; were also meant to serve as members of the state’s campaign council.

But a few hours after the list was released, the ruling party said it has no campaign councils set up yet for the elections.

“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to National Campaign Council Lists for the 11th November, 2023 Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States in circulation in sections of the media,” the party’s spokesperson, Felix Morka, said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“The lists are not official documents of the Party and should be disregarded.”

Before the APC withdrew the lists, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, appeared as one of the members of the Bayelsa campaign council.

The party took out his name in a revised list and eventually withdrew everything.

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