President Muhammadu Buhari is presently meeting with the All Progressive Congress ( APC) Presidential aspirants at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting is being attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the National leader of the APC Bola Tinubu, Ken Nnamani, amongst others
The meeting which is being attended by all the 23 aspirants, started at about 9.30pm.
The President had earlier in the day, attended the Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, in Accra, Ghana, called to review the political situation in Mali and other parts of the sub-region.
The President who returned from Spain on Friday, after a 3 day state visit, joined other Heads of State to also review the political situation in the Republics of Burkina Faso and Guinea.
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Earlier on Saturday, Governors elected under the platform of the All Progressive Congress ( APC) and leaders of the party from the northern states, met in Abuja, where they strongly advised the party to zone the 2923 presidency to the South.
In a statement after their meeting, the group stated that after a careful review of the political situation in the country, they agreed that the Presidency should go to the south.
The statement signed by eleven Governors, representing the party’s elected Governors, noted that the move will lead to the emergence of a strong Presidential candidate.
“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.
According to the party leaders, “ 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.”
The Governors said they “ 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.”
They also appealed 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.
They noted that APC has a duty to ensure that the 2023 elections offer a nation-building moment, even as they reaffirmed that a democratic pathway to power exists for all who value cooperation and build national platforms.
According to them, “This moment calls for the most sober and inclusive approach to selecting our party’s candidate, and we call on all APC leaders to fulfil their responsibility in this regard”
The statement was signed by Governors, Aminu Masari , of Katsina State! Abubakar Bello of Niger State! Abdullahi Sule, of Nasarawa State and Babagana Zulum of Borno State
Others include Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State! Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State! Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State and Simon Lalong of Plateau State
The former Governor of Sokoto state, Aliyu Wamakko Former Governor of Sokoto State, Governor Umar Ganduje , Kano State and Atiku Bagudu , of Kebbi State, also signed the document.
