Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; former Head of State, General Muhammad Buhari; and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi were the most notable absentees at Tuesday’s meeting the Council of State, which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In contrast, erstwhile Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida; former President, Shehu Shagari; former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalam Abubakar, as well as erstwhile Head of the Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan were all in attendance.
Also in attendance were Vice President, Namadi Sambo; President of the Senate, David Mark; Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; and onetime Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Uwais.
Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) and Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers).
Other governors present were Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Dickson Seriake (Bayelsa), Peter Obi (Anambra), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Theodor Orji (Abia), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Yari Abdulaziz (Zamfara), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Idris Wada (Kogi), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), and Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta).
Kano, Plateau and Borno States had their deputy governors in attendance.
At the start of the meeting, Governors Nyako and Akpabio who had to sit together as the name of their states both begins with Alphabet “A” bantered about the latter poisoning the former, as both are members of opposing parties All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), respectively.
“I am telling you don’t poison me here”, Nyako joked. “I am not comfortable with you here. If anything happens to me here, my people will take you to court”.
But Orji responded, saying after sitting with him at the meeting for many years, he could have poisoned him long ago if he really wanted to.
