Political parties in Nigeria has between August 18 to October 7, 2018, to conduct their primaries for the choice of their candidates to fly the flags various parties in the 2019 general elections.
This was as contained in the electoral guidelines released recently by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
But eight months to that period, political gladiators in the country have commenced maneuverings for their preferred candidates, though their actions are not described as political campaigns.
On Friday, seven governors on the platform of the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) met with President Muhamadu Buhari in Aso Rock Villa after which they told Nigerians that their visit to the president was to encourage him to seek reelection come 2019.
The seven governors were Malam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abubakar Bello of Niger State, Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State and Simon Lalong of Plateau State. Describe them as the ‘G7’ Governors and you probably might not be out of point.
Briefing newsmen after their meeting with the president, spokesman of the group of governors, el-Rufai, who said they have no apologies for their position on the president, maintained that their support for the reelection of Pesident Buhari was well-thought out and irreversible. Governir Abdullahi ganduje if Kano state was believed to be the leader of the ‘G7’ governors.
Before coming to make their intentions known to correspondents, six of the governors, being Muslims, had joined the President and other top government functionaries in the Friday jumaat prayers in the Aso Vila mosque, except for Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State. However, seven of them had lunch with the president during the visit.
