‘I have no anointed candidate for APC presidential ticket,’ Buhari tells governors

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday he has not endorsed any of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirants for the party’s ticket.

The President stated this during a meeting with the party governors from the North at the State House, Abuja.

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who addressed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the President asked the governors of APC-controlled states to meet with the party’s National Working Committee to fine-tune mechanisms for selecting the party’s presidential flag bearer.

He said: “The President told us that for the APC presidential primaries, he has no anointed candidate and therefore directed that the Progressive Governors’ Forum meet with the National Working Committee of the party to agree and proffer further solutions and recommendations for his successor.

“And based on his directive, the Chairman of Progressive Governors’ Forum has summoned a meeting for 5:00 p.m. after which we will make further suggestions to the President.”

READ ALSO: Buhari meets northern APC governors ahead of presidential primaries

Lalong added that the governors were at the Presidential Villa to apologize to President Buhari because they met over the weekend and decided to support a power shift to the south in the spirit of fairness, but the matter was leaked before they could convey their position to the President.

The Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, who was also at the briefing, said the governors’ position on power shift to the south was based on justice.

“We looked at the totality of the issues in our country and we believe APC with a President that has delivered democratic dividends across the breadth of the country and 22 governors has everything going for it.

“What is the political brinkmanship that we need to bring so that every component of Nigeria will feel important. It is to allow an opportunity for other parts of the country. And this is a step that will bring more peace and resonate with every part of Nigeria.”

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