The on-going meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the governors elected under the platform of the ruling APC has once again shown the primary place of state governors in Africa’s most populous country.
The meeting is holding at the state house in Abuja and all the twenty governors of the party are attending except for the governor of Kaduna state Nasir el Rufai who is represented by his deputy.
The meeting is holding ahead of the crucial presidential primaries of the ruling party which pits the so called National leader of the party Bola Ahmed Tinubu and vice president Yemi Osinbajo both of whom are angling to be the party’s flag bearer in the 2023 election.
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It is believed the president is consulting the governors over the primaries and also to seek the support of the governors to ensure that the presidential election holding this weekend proceeds seamlessly.
The state governors appear to have a stranglehold over the party as is the case with the rival PDP where the governors virtually determined which among the presidential aspirants got the votes of the delegates.
With Governor Kayode Feyemi, himself the chair of the governors’ forum also seeking APC’s presidential ticket, it is unclear how much support he will get from his fellow governors who many expect will have the delegates behind them when they cast their votes.
Because the governors are closer to the people and especially the local governments and in the absence of statutory delegates this time, the governors will have a major say on the outcome.
The influence of the state governor in APC was tested months ago when the national executive council of the party was elected.
It has since emerged that apart from the position of national chairman which the governors conceded to Buhari, most other officers were picked largely on account of the governors’ preferences.
