Presidency: No Vacancy In 2019 -APC -

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Levinus

Nwabughiogu

ABUJA — There will be no vacancy in the

<

p style="text-align:center;">Presidency in 2019, members of the National

Caucus of the All Progressives Congress, APC,

declared on Tuesday night in a seeming lure to

President Muhammadu Buhari to seek a second

term.

The national caucus, comprising serving and former

governors, the National Assembly leadership, and

selected members of the national executive of the

party, at the meeting said the endorsement of

President Buhari for a second term would help to

stabilise the polity in the face of what members

described as the 16-year rot inherited from

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Meanwhile, the national chairman of the party,

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has dismissed

insinuations of a threat against his position, just as

the caucus, Tuesday night, constituted a committee

to resolve all pending issues in the party.

One of the issues agreed on at the meeting,

Vanguard learned yesterday, was that President

Buhari should be given opportunity to seek a

second term. Though the issue of a second term

for the President was generally agreed, caucus

members, however, also agreed that it would be

too early in the day to kick start a second term

campaign for the President.

Vanguard learned that the issue was brought up as

a way of resting restiveness among some party

leaders, who have been divided over their various

aspirations for 2019.

The positioning by different party leaders on 2019

has been blamed for the problems that led to the

crisis in the National Assembly and also the

inability of the party to inaugurate its Board of

Trustees, BoT, till date.

“With Buhari contesting in 2019, those who have

been squabbling will now have to queue up behind

him and put the interest of the party ahead,” a

source privy to the development revealed

yesterday.

Remarkably, leading senators in the party on

Tuesday night met in Abuja where they also

pledged to unify themselves in the face of the

prospect of losing their influence to the more

united PDP caucus.

Odigie-Oyegun dismisses threat to his office

Meanwhile, Odigie-Oyegun speaking to reporters at

the end of the caucus meeting on Tuesday night

dismissed reports of pressures on him to resign his

office.

He said: “I am not aware that my office is under

threat. I led the party to the State House. It

amazes me, occasionally it annoys me. That is one

of the things you have to endure when you are in a

position like mine."

Noting the trend of the meeting, Odigie-Oyegun

said that a committee had been constituted to

resolve all the crises in the party.

Speaking on the performance of his party’s

government almost one year after taking over

power, the national chairman pleaded for time on

the part of Nigerians. He said the government

would come on full stream when the 2016 budget

is passed