By Oluwafemi Popoola
Barely 72 hours to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention, not less than nine APC governors have finally resolved to settle for a Southern APC presidential candidate after failed attempts to agree on who to recommend to the president for consideration.
On Tuesday, President Buhari met with the 22 APC state governors and asked them to support him in picking his preferred successor to continue his legacy.
Now, the Northern governors of the party
has requested that President Muhammadu Buhari look toward the southern presidential hopefuls when considering his successor.
This follows several media reports indicating few of the governors had first insisted that the party’s Presidency should be zoned to the North because the main opposition party had settled for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at their convention.
ALSO READ: 2023 Presidency: APC govs begin to rally around Osinbajo
However, in a statement released today, before the President meets with the presidential aspirants, not less than nine governors have argued that it is in the interests of national cohesion and social justice for the presidency to be zoned to the South in 2023, after eight years of the Buhari presidency.
These governors are Aminu Bello Masari, Governor of Katsina State, Abubakar Sani Bello, Governor of Niger State, Abdullahi A. Sule, Governor of Nasarawa State, Prof. B.G. Umara Zulum, Governor of Borno State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, Governor of Gombe State, Bello M. Matawalle, Governor of Zamfara State, Simon Bako Lalong, Governor of Plateau State, Senator Aliyu Wamakko,
Former Governor of Sokoto State, Dr A.U. Ganduje, Governor of Kano State, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Governor of Kebbi State.
The statement reads in part, ” 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 fulfil their responsibility in this regard.”
The ruling party will nominate its presidential candidate at its National Convention in Abuja on the 7th of June. Twenty-three (23) aspirants have been screened to participate in the primary, 19 of whom are from across the three geopolitical zones in the South.
