President Muhammadu Buhari has told governors of his party, APC, that he would want to pick his successor and needs the governors to support him to do so.
President Buhari said this yesterday at a meeting with governors elected on the APC platform at the State House, Abuja.
President Buhari told the governors that he realizes the need for him to provide stronger leadership to the party under this transition process.
The president said the stronger leadership is not only to ensure that APC’s electoral fortunes improve but also to ensure that the party retains power at the center by winning the presidential election.
At the meeting with the governors, President Buhari also stated the factors he would consider in supporting a presidential candidate among the 23 persons seeking to fly the APC flag. The president left for Spain after the meeting with the governors, who later convened another meeting to deliberate on the request by the president.
Meanwhile, a meeting the APC governors held yesterday evening to discuss the stance of President Muhammadu Buhari on the party’s presidential candidate ended in a deadlock.
The meeting was held in Abuja, minutes after the APC governors had a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
At their own meeting, one of the governors told newsmen that members could not agree on how to implement the president’s request.
The source said many northern governors, however, argued that no southern governor could defeat Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate in the presidential election; so the north should be given preference. This angered some southern governors.
Some of the southern governors also argued that the nominees do not have to be state governors. This position is believed to have been pushed by governors loyal to some southern presidential candidates such as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Tinubu.
