It’s an expensive joke – Akeredolu on Lawan’s announcement as APC consensus candidate

Rotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State governor, has strongly opposed the announcement of Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that it’s an expensive joke.

Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the APC had at the party’s NWC meeting on Monday, announced Lawan as consensus presidential candidate.

The announcement has since been dismissed by northern APC governors as well as President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting in a statement titled, ‘Abdullahi Adamu on a frolic of his own,’ Akeredolu, who is the chairman of the southern governors forum, said “My attention has just been drawn to the expensive joke purportedly enacted by the National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

“The speculation is rife that the Chairman took a flight of fancy and decided to make a pronouncement beyond his competence.

“He has, allegedly, made public his preferred choice as the candidate of the APC for the Office of the President in the next general elections.

“This alleged pronouncement runs contrary to the position of majority of Northern Governors in APC and their counterparts in the South. Our agreement is unanimous on this issue.

“The Office of the President should be contested for by qualified persons from the Southern part of the country if the move to get a consensus candidate fails. There has been no shift from this settled issue.

“Let it be known that the Chairman or anyone who holds a contrary opinion does so at a personal level. He is at best embarking on a frolic which reasonable people will consider dangerous.

“We are grieving but have not forgotten that Power MUST shift to the south. On this we stand.”