President to discuss 2019 election with APC Governors in Daura

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to welcome governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to his Daura home to discuss "very serious political developments" on Friday, February 16, 2018.

According to a report by Daily Trust, sources said the president might inform the governors about his reelection bid in the 2019 presidential election during the meeting in Katsina State.

According to a source, the president was originally scheduled to meet the governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, but was rescheduled after he flew to his country home on Thursday, February 15.

The president had earlier on Thursday been in Kaduna State for the induction of the 'TSAIGUMI' Unmanned Aerial Vehicle which was indigenously designed and built by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

While the president's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed the meeting, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said whatever meeting he has in Daura would be a private one.

The president's Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, also later confirmed that the APC Governors' Forum will be led by its Chairman and Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha.

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Buhari's reelection status

While the president has refused to officially declare his intention to seek reelection in 2019, he has flirted around the topic in recent months.

While meeting with the Nigerian community in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire in November 2017, the president explained that he was accompanied to the meeting by two state governors because it will "be another vote for me in the future."

Also, while speaking during a two-day visit to Kano State a week later, the president said he's confident of winning reelection particularly due to the crowd turnout.

"I am overwhelmed by the sea of people I see, and by what I see today, if elections are contested I will no doubt win it," he said.

Hours after media reports indicated that Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had been reappointed as Buhari's national campaign coordinator on January 3, 2018, the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, told journalists in the State House that the campaign for his reelection has officially taken off in the southwest region.