A strategic planning committee of Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council met behind closed-doors in Abuja on Tuesday evening to review its growing membership list.
The meeting, chaired by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who is also the Director General of the council, started a bit late at the PCC office in Abuja.
A source said the agenda of the political roundtable was hinged on the need to properly vet the nominees’ list to avoid another backlash as witnessed in the outrage of aggrieved All Progressives Congress’ governors and members of the National Working Committee after the list was unveiled.
This was also confirmed by the PCC Director of Media and Communications, Bayo Onanuga, who said that the meeting was called by Lalong to “take another look at the list.”
“But it is an internal meeting. It is just to take another look at the campaign list so people don’t complain again. That’s the agenda of the meeting,” he said.
However, no member of the NWC, including the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was present at Tuesday’s meeting of the strategic planning committee.
When asked if any NWC member ought to be at the meeting, the source stated that unless an arrangement was agreed on, they also held sensitive positions in the newly constituted campaign council.
He said, “Are they not members of the PCC? Remember that Adamu is a deputy chairman of the council while national vice chairmen of the APC are equally deputy coordinators and zonal vice chairmen.
“But many of them were absent at the meeting. But I understand there will be a crucial meeting of the NWC tomorrow (Wednesday) to also deliberate on the list.”
The inaugural meeting of the PCC committee is coming six days after the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, failed to kick off its nationwide electioneering campaign in line with the directive of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Tinubu’s campaign team also called off Wednesday’s proposed solidarity march that was scheduled to commence from the PCC office on Herbert Macaulay Way in Central Business District to the Unity Fountain in Maitama.
The postponement, according to his supporters, became necessary after the former Lagos governor travelled to London for vacation.
Tinubu had unveiled a 422-man committee comprising political heavyweights and other notable members to pilot the various sub-committees of the campaign council to drive its strategy for electoral victory in the 2023 presidential poll.
