The Governor of Imo State who also doubles as the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Sen. Hope Uzodinma has declared that Kano State is important to the political fortunes of the governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Uzodinma who spoke to State House correspondents on Thursday pointed out that “Kano is not only important to APC but to Nigeria, so it’s an important state for all of us. NNPP is a political party. The APC is a political party. The most important thing is the interest of Nigerians and the people.”
Africa Today News, New York gathered exactly one week ago, President Tinubu had held a closed-door talks with a delegation comprising the leadership of the Kano State Chapter of the APC at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
APC Chairman and former governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, led the group. He came at the Villa with Nasir Gawuna, the party’s candidate for governor on March 18, and his former deputy.
The conference took place just one week after the Supreme Court declared that Abba Yusuf of the NNPP, Gawuna’s primary opponent, was the legitimate governor of the Centre of Commerce.
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Last March, power in the northwestern state shifted from the APC when Gawuna polled 890,705 votes, falling behind Yusuf, who the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the winner with 1,019,602 votes.
However, the APC candidate contested the results in court despite conceding defeat earlier.
Although the outcome of Thursday’s closed-door talks was not made public, our correspondent reliably gathered that the President had instructed them to return to Kano and make peace with the ruling NNPP to move the state forward.
The NNPP was the fourth contender in the February 2023 presidential election when it fronted former Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former Kano State Governor, who dealt APC’s Tinubu a humiliating defeat in the state.
Asked about the reconciliatory move, the IMO Governor said “Government is one and no matter the political party you belong to, we are one.
“At the end of the day what we are looking for is how to ensure that the ordinary man on the street is taken care of and there is security for all of us and the welfare of our citizens is also protected, which is the primary purpose of government.”
Uzodinma said he was meeting Vice President Kashim Shettima, to brief him on the efforts made so far to stem crude oil theft.
On December 21, the National Economic Council, chaired by the Vice President set up committees on Economic Affairs and Crude Oil Theft & Management.
Both committees are headed by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma, respectively.
This followed deliberations on critical economic matters and assessments of potential short-term, medium and long-term strategies for addressing pressing economic issues…at the 138th meeting of NEC which was held virtually.