The Northern Governors under the All Progressive Congress (APC) platform have insisted that they still stand by their earlier decision to have the party’s presidential ticket zoned to the Southern part of the country.
This was made known by the governors through a communique signed shortly before a last-minute consultation with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where they said that they still support power shift to the south after 8 years of President Buhari in office.
What the APC Northern Governors are saying in the communique
The communique from the Northern governors reads, “After a careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in the office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria.
“It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in any way affected by the decisions taken by another political party.”
Communique leaked before governors informed President Buhari
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Simon Lalong of Plateau State regretted that the communiqué from the meeting got leaked to the public before they officially informed the President of their resolution.
He, however, noted that the governors had to inform the President in person as part of last-minute preparations for tomorrow’s primary elections.
Northern Governors disown Governor Yahaya Bello
- The APC Northern governors were reported to have disowned the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello for opposing their position that power should go to the south.
- When asked why their Kogi State counterpart, Bello, was absent from the meeting, a visibly upset Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State said it was not compulsory for all 14 of them to agree on the southern ticket.
- He said Governor Bello had excused himself from the meeting with the President because he rejected the resolution made by the governors.
- El-Rufai argued that 13 out of 14 agreeing to the resolution is enough to front the agenda for a southern candidate.
- Those reported to be in attendance include Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, Aminu Masari of Katsina, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Abubakar Bello of Niger, Yahaya Inuwa of Gombe, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara.
President Buhari does not have an anointed candidate
- Meanwhile, President Buhari has said that he has no anointed candidate in the presidential primary elections of the APC slated for June 7, 2022.
- The President is also reported to have said he is in agreement with the position of the APC northern governors that power should be shifted to the southern part of the country in 2023.
- This was also disclosed by the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, saying that the President made it clear that he has no anointed candidate in the presidential primary as he is a believer in a democratic process that must be transparent.
