Governors of the All Progressives Party (APC) stayed away from the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council at the State House in Abuja Thursday. The meeting was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, Adams Oshiomhole, Bola Ahmed Tinubu among top members of the party but governors were conspicuously absent.

There were speculations that the governors shunned the meeting because some of them are busy fighting to brighten their chances at the polls.

However, APC has defended governors’ absence at the meeting, saying governors were not under any compulsion to attend, stressing that the meeting was only meant to design a timetable and the central themes of the campaign.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, explained that the meeting was also not an inaugural one. He said the council had met at least three times since it was inaugurated on Monday by the President.

“The agenda for the meeting had to do with drawing the timetable and deciding on the messaging. It didn’t require everyone in the council to be present. Meanwhile, this is not the inaugural meeting. After the inauguration on Monday, there have been not less than three meetings of the council”,  he explained.