It’s not compulsory for Buhari to preside over every FEC meeting – el-Rufai

KADUNA State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has said it is not compulsory for President Muhammadu Buhari to preside over every Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Speaking on the absence of the president at the Wednesday FEC meeting, during a  meeting of governors of All Progressives Congress (APC) with the national leadership of the party, the Kaduna State governor said there was no cause for alarm.

“We are not worried about the development, it is not compulsory for the president to preside over every FEC meeting; that is why our constitution makes provision for the office of the vice president.

“The president is 74 years, at that age, it is possible to have one ailment or the other, even I, at 57, take medication for one ailment or the other.

“Our prayers is that the president gets better but the reason he has a vice president is because of a time like this. It may not be as a reason of sickness that he didn’t attend FEC, he may have had other issues to attend to,” el-Rufai stated.

This came as the national chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, met with governors on the ticket of the party, who pledged their loyalty to his leadership.

At the end of the meeting which lasted over three hours, the governors resolved to work with the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) under the leadership of Chief Odigie-Oyegun.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Governor el-Rufai, who was flanked by his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and the party’s national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, told newsmen that henceforth, the NWC and the governors agreed to hold monthly meeting with a view to fostering and working towards strengthening the party.

El-Rufai further disclosed that governors and the NWC, at their next meeting, would agree on a date for the convention.

Governor el-Rufai was, however, silent on when the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting would be held and the modalities for the aborted convention.

“You recall that we had the first meeting in March and certain resolutions and decisions have been taken.

“The most important decision is that henceforth, we will hold a meeting here at the national secretariat. This is with a view to fostering interactions between the national and state branches of the party as well as working towards strengthening the party,” he said.

El-Rufai also said the governors were committed to providing the NWC all the support needed, adding that “we will also engage in fund-raising from our donors and sympathisers of the APC to ensure that the national headquarters of the party and, indeed, all organs of the party have the wherewithal to continue with the difficult work they have been doing within the party.”