The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued discussions on the possibility of coming up with a consensus candidate ahead of Tuesday’s special convention for its presidential primary election.
Alhaji Abubakar Kyari, Vice Chairman, North, of the party, on Monday in Abuja, said discussions on the issue would continue tonight at the house of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the party’s national chairman.
Kyari spoke to newsmen at the end of a closed-door meeting between governors elected on the party’s platform and members of its National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s national secretariat.
When asked if the party had come up with a consensus candidate, Kyari said: “the discussion continues tonight at the house of the party’s national chairman”.
He said the possibility of the party coming up with a consensus candidate before the primaries, could therefore not be ruled out.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 2,340 delegates from the 774 Local Government Areas in the country and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are expected to vote at the APC presidential primary.
The delegates are expected to cast their votes for their preferred aspirant that would emerge as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Though, 23 presidential aspirants bought the party’s presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest the presidency, 13 were cleared by the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun presidential screening committee.
President Muhammadu Buhari, at a dinner with the party’s presidential aspirants on Saturday, backed the rotation of power to the Southern part of the country in 2023.
This limited the numbers of aspirants that would be contesting the party’s 2023 presidential ticket at the primary to those from the South if a consensus candidate is not picked.
NAN also reports that 11 governors from the North had in a statement on Saturday, announced their decision to support power shift to the South after the end of the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governors, while urging presidential aspirants from the northern part of the country to step down from the 2023 presidential race, said, ”the decision to support power shift to the South is in the best interest of the country”.
The APC Special Convention for its presidential primary election holds at the Abuja Eagle Square.
