The camp of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday disclosed that Ilorin, Kwara State capital in the North Central region of the country has been chosen as the official port to launch their campaign.
This was confirmed by one of the party’s bigwigs (name withheld) who also attended Wednesday’s tripartite meeting with the Progressive Governors Forum, Presidential Campaign Council and members of APC National Working Committee.
The source, one of Tinubu’s loyalists, told our correspondent that the presidential candidate and the stakeholders agreed on the North Central in general and Ilorin specifically.
The closed-door meeting, held for about three hours at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, witnessed heavy traffic and security presence.
In attendance were National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC; Tinubu’s running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima; Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu; Deputy Director General of the PCC, Adams Oshimhole; Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje; Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila among others.
Though spokesperson for the Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, told journalists after the meeting that a ‘region’ had been selected for the campaign launch, he was unwilling divulge it.
He said, “We have agreed on the region to begin the campaign but I am not going to say that now. We have also addressed all the basic issues because we want to carry the leaders of the party along. For now, no date has been chosen (for PCC inauguration). But we will announce that sooner than you think.”
Asked why the APC stakeholders and the candidate had yet to reach a decision on an appropriate date for both the campaign and PCC inauguration, Keyamo admitted that a definite date had not been agreed upon.
According to him, political campaign has to involve a conscious and calculative strategy to ensure no stone is left unturned.
But the source, one of Tinubu’s loyalists, told our correspondent that the lot fell on Kwara State after careful permutation.
He said, “The candidate and the stakeholders deliberated consciously on the issue, considered the odds before they finally agreed for the choice of North Central in general and Ilorin specifically.
“It will be the starting point for our campaign before we spread into other areas. But the date has not been agreed on.”
When contacted on Friday to reconfirm if the campaign is truly launching from Ilorin, both Keyamo and the PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, were hesitant on revealing details.
They neither confirmed nor debunked the report.
Keyamo said, “We cannot confirm anything now. Though it is not a disclaimer, there is no official release on that.”
Onanuga’s position on the issue was also not different.
“Why don’t you wait? The party will announce it. I cannot confirm anything to you on this. You guys (media) should wait for us to unveil the manifesto and the PCC this week. That’s what we plan to do first,” he stated.