President Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting with the presidential aspirants under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed to produce a consensus candidate as no aspirant is ready to shelf his ambition.
The meeting held after governors from the Northern part of the country have agreed to zone the party presidential ticket to the South.
The governors in their decision was taken at a meeting of the governors on Saturday night in Abuja advised President Muhammadu Buhari to pick the party candidate from the South.
In a statement issued at the end of their meeting and signed by the governors, Jigawa State Governor, Badaru Abubakar, who is one of the aspirants, withdrew from the contest.
The statement reads, ”After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria.
“It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in anyway affected by the decisions taken by another political party. We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country.
“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.”
Meanwhile, as it is stands now, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Senator Ibikunle Amosun are expected to slug it out on Tuesday at the party national convention to determine who will fly the flag.
Others are Godswill Akpabio and Ben Ayade.
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