Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari says he has not anointed anyone as consensus presidential candidate for the APC, ahead of the party’s presidential primary starting from Tuesday.
Reports had emerged to the effect that Abdullahi Adamu, APC national chairman, announced Ahmad Lawan, senate president, as the party’s consensus candidate during the party’s NWC meeting on Monday, claiming to have done so with the president’s nod.
Following the announcement northern APC governors who had backed power shift to the south, visited Buhari at the state house, Abuja, after which they restated their position on power rotation, while also pointing out that the president confided in them that he had not anointed any candidate.
Confirming the governor’s position, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, issued a statement on behalf of the president, noting that he never anointed any candidate.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday afternoon cleared all doubts about where he stands on the choice of a presidential candidate for the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, declaring before the party’s 14 governors of northern states that he has “no preferred candidate,” and has “anointed no one,” and is determined to ensure that “there shall be no imposition of any candidate on the party,” the statement said.
“Speaking at a meeting with the Governors at the State House, Abuja, President Buhari said the party is important and its members must be respected, and made to feel they are important.
“The President said he had a clear mind about what he was doing and asked the APC governors to feel the same way: “You were elected as I was. Have a clear mind as I have. God gave us the chance; we have no reason to complain. We must be ready to take pain as we take the joy. Allow the delegates to decide. The Party must participate, nobody will appoint anybody.”
“Earlier in their addresses, the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of the Progressive Governors Forum, said they had come to affirm the position of the Northern Governors that the party’s candidate in the presidential election shall come from the southern part of the country.
“They apologised to the President for the leakage of their signed memorandum which was not in support of any particular candidate and gave assurances to the President on their readiness to accept his leadership on the matter.
