President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that he has “no preferred candidate” and has “anointed no one” ahead of the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress holding on Tuesday in Abuja.
The President made the declaration while meeting with the All Progressives Governors Monday afternoon at the presidential villa in Abuja, to clear all doubts about where he stands on the choice of a presidential candidate for the party.
He assured that he is determined to ensure that “there shall be no imposition of any candidate on the party.”
Prompt News Online reports that APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had told a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) earlier in the day that Senate President Ahmad Lawan, would be the party’s consensus presidential candidate.
However, the northern governors kicked against this prompting their meeting with the President.
But, 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.
