The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says senior party officials do not necessarily need appointments to Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign council, following questions about the absence of its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, from the council.
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The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview on Monday that national officers had responsibilities beyond the presidential campaign and could support the candidate without serving on the council.
Mr Abdullahi was responding to a question about why neither he nor Mr Aregbesola, a former Osun State governor, was included in the campaign structure.
He explained that the party must continue functioning throughout the election period, while the presidential campaign council has a more limited assignment.
Mr Aregbesola was among the senior party figures absent from the published campaign council list.
Mr Abdullahi did not identify a specific decision or selection process responsible for Mr Aregbesola’s omission.
South-West controversy
Mr Abdullahi also addressed complaints from some South-West ADC officials who accused Atiku of excluding them from his campaign activities.
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A Sunday PUNCH report quoted some party officials and governorship candidates who accused Atiku of relying on personal associates rather than established party structures in organising political activities in the region.
According to the report, some of the officials raised their concerns at a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, on 4 September, attended by Mr Aregbesola.
They reportedly argued that party officials should be more involved in campaign planning rather than having decisions taken primarily by the candidate’s associates.
Asked about the reported disagreements, Mr Abdullahi denied that the party had an institutional problem in the South-West.
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He acknowledged that individual politicians could have disagreements but rejected suggestions that these amounted to a crisis within the party’s regional structures.
Mr Abdullahi also criticised the newspaper’s handling of the report, describing it as a “hatchet job” and questioning whether the party had been given an opportunity to respond.
Campaign appointments
Atiku’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, had earlier rejected suggestions that South-West party executives were being excluded from campaign appointments.
Mr Shaibu said state campaign coordinators and their councils had not yet been announced or inaugurated, adding that nominations were still being received.
The party’s immediate past South-West Zonal Chairman, Rasak Eyiowuawi, also rejected reports of a widespread revolt, saying some individuals were presenting personal grievances as the position of the entire region.