2023: Emefiele still undecided, as 25 aspirants submit APC presidential forms

The All Progressives Congress (APC) announced on Wednesday that it sold 28 presidential nomination and declaration of interest forms, with 25 of them filled out and returned to the party.

Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity; Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; and Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, were among those who failed to submit their forms, according to the APC.

Ngige and Sylva had announced that they were withdrawing from the 2023 presidential contest, but the CBN governor is yet to make his intentions known.

He has also approached the court for an order barring the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Independent National Electoral Commission from compelling him to resign from office if he wants to contest the 2023 general elections. That prayer is yet to be granted.

Felix Morka, the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, stated this while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, a current affairs program.

Morka said, “I can exhaustively provide you that information for the fact that some of those who you said have reneged, they have done so in the public space but have yet to officially communicate that to the party. And those things don’t necessarily happen at the same time.

“Sometimes, these things will go out to the media and we all read it and gain the understanding that those individuals may be pulling back, whereas as far as the party is concerned, especially for those who have made their submissions – of their forms, we yet don’t have information confirming or notifying us of their decisions.

“What I have at this time, we have 28 altogether who purchased forms and at the last count, we had about 25 who made submissions of those forms. So, three of them did not. They are Senator Chris Ngige; Godwin Emefiele and Timipre Sylva.”

Earlier, the ruling party pushed back its presidential primary by two days.

According to a statement titled: “APC adjusts schedule of activities for 2023 primary elections,” issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the presidential primary will now take place on May 29.

The exercise was earlier slated to hold between May 30 and June 1 in Abuja.

Read also: Emefiele a card-carrying APC member, unfit to continue as CBN governor — PDP

The party also announced new dates for the governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly primaries.

Morka said the governorship and House of Representatives primaries had been rescheduled to May 26 while that of Senate and House of Assembly primaries will take place the following day.

The APC had earlier fixed May 20 for the governorship primaries, House of Assembly, May 22, House of Representatives May 24, and Senate May 25.

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