Akume denies interest in APC Chairman position

By Jude Opara, Abuja

Contrary to speculation in certain quarters that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume was angling to become the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the SGF on Thursday said he is not going to be available for the position.

In a statement made available to newsmen, Yomi Odunuga, the
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the SGF said there is no iota of truth in the suggestion that Sen. Akume intends to replace the immediate past National Chairman, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje.

Odunuga stressed that Sen. Akume is more interested in discharging the responsibilities of his office and not going to betray the confidence reposed on him by President Bola Tinubu.

“The attention of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has been drawn to a publication in the Leadership Newspaper indicating that the SGF is one of the top politicians jostling for the position of the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“To the best of our knowledge, this statement is nothing but a fabrication meant to distract the SGF from the key responsibilities that have been placed on him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).

“For the record, Senator Akume is not jostling with anyone for the post of either the APC National Chairman or any other post in the party. His main focus, he insists, is to ensure that he does not in any way betray the intrinsic trust that President Tinubu reposes in him in ensuring that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the ruling party and the government is achieved within the targeted time frame”.

He added that the SGF firmly believes that there are credible and well qualified people in the North Central capable of occupying the office of the APC National Chairman.

“While Senator Akume believes that there are qualified candidates in the North-Central to vie for the National Chairmanship position should the party decide to zone the position to the North-Central geopolitical zone, he is of the opinion that what is paramount to him is to help in fast-tracking national development in line with the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda instead of getting entangled in the politics of who becomes the National Chairman of the party.

“I am not in a hurry to abdicate my responsibility and the task that the President of the Federal Republic has placed before me. I am a firm believer in the principle that whatever God plans for you will surely come to pass.So I can’t be in a race that I am not interested in.

“Everything that I have been in life has been given to me by the Almighty God through the instrumentality of people including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To say that I am one of the prominent politicians gunning for the position of the APC Chairman is completely false because I am in the process of ensuring that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President and the government is realised so that Nigerians can enjoy the true dividends of democracy that they crave for. We are working day and night to deliver on these promises under the supervision of the President and we are totally committed to this”.

The statement further stated that the Office of the SGF is open to be contacted for verification of facts at all times.