6th June, 2022
Northern APC governors have insisted on a Southern presidential candidate for the party after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.
The Northern governors’ move is against the position of APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu’s declaration of Senate President, Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
The APC is holding its Special National Convention today to choose its presidential candidate to fly the banner of the party in next year’s presidential election.
Adamu had on Monday at the National Working Committee’s (NWC) meeting announced Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
Adamu’s adoption of Lawan as consensus candidate is against the position of 11 APC northern governors who endorsed that power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
The APC Northern governors met with Buhari on Monday afternoon and insisted that they would support a Southern presidential candidate.
Governors at today’s meeting with the president are: 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, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, among others.
Plateau State Governor and Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, Simon Lalong, who spoke on behalf of others said the northern governors insisted on a southern presidential candidate.
According to him, the governors had informed the president about their decision to back a southern aspirant to emerge as the party’s candidate.
Also, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai said the decision of the Northern governors was final that they would back a southern aspirant to emerge candidate of the party.
El-Rufai said the decision of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State not to attend the meeting and backing out of the arrangement did not invalidate their move, saying that he is only one out of 14 governors supporting southern candidate.