President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday evening met with the Presidential aspirants on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential Villa over a dinner.
Twenty-three persons had expressed interest in contesting for the sole Presidential ticket of the APC but the John Odigie-Oyegun Screening Panel pruned them down to thirteen.
Oyegun had said that the party’s leadership could either accept or reject his recommendation but the President invited all the aspirants to a dinner which started by 9:00pm yesterday.
Those aspirants shortlisted by the Oyegun’s panel to participate include: Mohammed Badaru Abubaka; Emeka Nwajiuba; Mr Tein Jack-Rich; Ogbonnaya Onu; Ibikunle Amosun; David Umahi; Godswill Akpabio; Kayode Fayemi; Rotimi Amaechi; Ahmad Lawan; Yahaya Bello; Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Those advised to step down were Tunde Bakare; Rochas Okorocha; Ben Ayade; Sani Yerima; Ken Nnamani, Ikeobasi Mokelu; Dimeji Bankole; Felix Nicholas; Uju Ken-Ohanenye and Ajayi Borroffice.
Though newsmen were barred from the meeting, it was however gathered that the meeting was to explore the possibility of reaching a consensus among the aspirants and for the President to unmask his preferred candidate where consensus option fails.
Ahead of the APC primary slated for Tuesday, there have been several consultations between the President, party’s leadership, governors and some of the aspirants on the need to reach a consensus.
For instance, the party’s chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and some governors met the Vice President, Yemi- Osinbajo, who is also a Frontline aspirant, in his official residence last Thursday.
A reliable source at the Presidency confirmed that the President had thrown his weight behind the emergence of a southerner as his successor.
It was also expected that the south-west Presidential aspirants we’re to meet with an APC chieftains and former governor of Ogun state, Olusegun Osoba in his Abuja residence.
The meeting, according to the source was to explore the possibility of getting a consensus among the aspirants.
The South-west aspirants are Senator Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi- Osinbajo, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Kayode Fayemi, Ibikunle Amosun, Sen. Ajayi Borroffice and Dimeji Bankole.
Meanwhile, governors of the All Progressives Congress from the North have conceded the presidential position of the party to the Southern part of the country.
A statement issued at the end of a meeting of the governors at the end of their meeting, the governors said it was a matter of honour for the APC to return presidency to the South, after eight years of president Muhammadu Buhari. According to the statement, they held the meeting with other leaders from the region.
The statement read in part: “After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in 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. We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country.
“We therefore wish to strongly recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari that the search for a successor as the APC’s presidential candidate be limited to our compatriots from the southern states. We appeal to all aspirants from the northern states to withdraw in the national interest and allow only the aspirants from the south to proceed to the primaries. We are delighted by the decision of our esteemed colleague, His Excellency, Governor Abubakar Badaru to contribute to this patriotic quest by withdrawing his presidential aspiration.
“The APC has a duty to ensure that the 2023 elections offer a nation-building moment, reaffirming that a democratic pathway to power exists for all who value cooperation and build national platforms. This moment calls for the most sober and inclusive approach to selecting our party’s candidate, and we call on all APC leaders to fulfill their responsibility in this regard.”
The statement was signed by 10 governors, including Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina) Abubakar Sani Bello( Niger) Abdullahi A. Sule (Nasarawa) B.G. Umara Zulum (Borno) Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (Kaduna ) Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya( Gombe) Bello M. Matawalle (Zamfara) Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau) Senator Aliyu Wamakko, former Governor of Sokoto State; Dr. Abudullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
