The Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Ali Bukar Dalori, has dismissed insinuations that a recent party meeting in Maiduguri, Borno State, was organised to endorse or marginalise any political figure.
Dalori spoke amid concerns within the party following the exclusion of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s photograph from a banner displayed at the North East zonal public hearing on proposed amendments to the APC constitution.
The incident occurred on Monday during the event, which was attended by governors, party leaders and other stakeholders from the North East zone.
The banner featured images of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the five APC governors from the region and the party’s National Legal Adviser, but did not include Shettima, who hails from Borno State.
The development had earlier attracted criticism from the Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, who described the omission as unfair and provocative.
Responding to the controversy in an interview with Daily Trust on Monday night, Dalori said the issue was being overstated.
“From all indications, some people are taking the comment by the Borno State Assembly speaker out of proportion.
“For me as the deputy national chairman who is also in charge of the 19 northern states, it was a harmless comment by the speaker,” he said.
Dalori maintained that there was no plan by the party leadership to undermine the Vice President.
“You all know my closeness to the VP. You also know the closeness of the APC chairman in Borno State to the VP. There is no way we could superintend or be part of any gathering where the VP will be undermined,” he said.
He explained that the Maiduguri meeting was solely convened to deliberate on issues relating to the party’s constitution.
“The essence of the meeting in Maiduguri is to discuss the APC constitution and nothing more,” Dalori said.
According to him, the absence of Shettima’s photograph on the banner was likely the result of an error.
“The omission of Vice President Kashim Shettima in the poster could be an error of judgment, most likely by the organisers, and nothing more,” he added.
