2019: Anyone can become our presidential candidate, S’West APC declares as Tinubu absents meeting

Ahead 2019 general elections, the South West leaders of the All Progressives Congress has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has not yet told them if he will seek re-election but that in case he decides to run and luckily picks the party ticket, that the region will support him.

This was stated by a chieftain and former acting chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande.
He said this on Thursday at the meeting of the APC South-West stakeholders at the executive chamber of the Oyo State governor’s office in Ibadan.

Some of the leaders of the party from the zone in attendance at the meeting were Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu; Osun State Governor Rafiu Aregbesola, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

Others were a former Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala; a former Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; the deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yussuff Lasun; and the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu.

Meanwhile, former Lagos governor and a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu was absent at the meeting. He was said to have earlier planned to be at the meeting.

At the close of the meeting, newsmen had asked Akande if South West is considering picking Buhari as APC presidential candidate in 2019.

“He (Buhari) has not told us that he is contesting again. Anybody in our party is free to become the President of Nigeria. As soon as they indicate interest, we will set a process through which a candidate is elected. If he (Buhari) is lucky to have the ticket, we will present him as our candidate,” he responded.

He however added that what the South-West leaders of the party are demanding for is devolution of powers from the centre to the states and local governments.

“The APC leaders from the South-West, together with our members in government at the state and the national levels, met to review what we decided at the last meeting in January 2017 and to see whether the efforts of our leaders in government have been fruitful.

“We are happy that we have had a happy meeting. Our governors and ministers are performing satisfactorily.

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“Restructuring is not our language, go and ask those who are advocating restructuring to define it. What we want is devolution of functions from the centre to the states and the local governments. Restructuring is the language of other groups of people. Restructuring is not in the APC constitution or manifesto,” he said.

Earlier in his opening address, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi hinted that the meeting was to afford the leaders veritable ground to reconnect with their political root.

“Our meeting today presents a veritable ground for us to reconnect with our political root and keep re-engaging ourselves as people whom nature has entrusted with the political leadership of the region at this material time.

“Similarly, it is to reconnect to the ideals that are germane to the progress of our people and, by extension, to the growth and development of Nigeria,” he said.

 

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