Count Us In – APC National Working Committee Rejects Lawan as Consensus Presidential Candidate, Emphasizes Position of Northern Governors
The ruling All Progressives Congress National Working Committee said it was not part of endorsing Senate Speaker Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus presidential nominee.
The NWC in an interview said that the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, who made the announcement, spoke for himself, while they (the committee) supported the position of the northern governors and the president that the presidency should go to the southern region. in 2023.
“We are fully briefed by our President and he has told us that Senate President Ahmad Lawan is the party’s consensus candidate, but this is not a matter that was discussed on the NWC floor.
“You all know that about two days ago the governors of the north held a meeting for the leaders of this country to go to the south. So the NWC is with the governors. Just a few minutes ago , governors in the north have gone to the president to say that they are still on what they said when it comes to transferring power to the south.
“The president and all of us are entitled to our opinion. This decision was never taken by the NWC,†Sulaiman Muhammad Argungu, APC National Organizing Secretary, told reporters on Monday.
SaharaReporters reported earlier that President Muhammadu Buhari denied endorsing Senate Speaker Lawan, which contradicts an earlier proclamation by APC National Chairman Adamu.
As many as 13 northern governors from the ruling All Progressives Congress after their meeting on Monday also confirmed that Buhari did not have a preferred candidate in the party’s primary elections which began in Abuja.
The governors had revealed this shortly after meeting Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, who spoke to reporters after the meeting, added that the northern governors had agreed that power should shift to the south.
They had also met with the National Working Committee of the party.
The President’s meeting with APC Northern Governors is the fourth talks in his effort to have a harmonized position ahead of the convention.
Those present at the meeting are Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, Chairman of Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Lalong, Abubakar Baduru (Jigawa) and Babagana Zulum (Borno).
The others are Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Yahaya Inuwa (Gombe), Abubakar Bello (Niger) and the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni.
Despite Buhari’s denial, SaharaReporters learned that he did indeed confide in APC National President Adamu that Lawan was his choice but never asked him to make it public.
“Buhari will deny appointing Senate Speaker Lawan as the consensus candidate. Although Buhari confided in Adamu that he prefers Lawan, he didn’t tell him to announce it.
“The governors had branded Buhari asking the presidency to go south and El-Rufai got wind of it and leaked their position to the press to pressure Buhari not to endorse Lawan,” revealed a source at SaharaReporters.
Earlier, the national chairman of the APC announced that Lawan was the party’s consensus presidential candidate.
Adamu made the announcement during the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting on Monday in Abuja.
His adoption of Lawan as the consensus candidate runs counter to the position of northern APC governors, who had said power should shift to the south after President Buhari’s tenure.
Adamu told the National Working Committee that he arrived at the choice of Senate Speaker after consultation with Buhari.
