APC northern governors, NWC shortlist five southern presidential aspirants

The All Progressives Congress (APC) northern governors and the National Working Committee (NWC) have narrowed search for the party’s consensus presidential candidate to five aspirants from the south.

Plateau State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong, disclosed this on Tuesday while appearing on a live interview programme, Sunrise Daily, on Channels Television.

Lalong, whose group has insisted on power shift to the south after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, North West, said the APC is looking at the possibility of a consensus presidential candidate, as the party’s delegates gather Tuesday to elect a standard bearer towards the 2023 general elections.

On the list of those recommended by the northern governors, according to Lalong, are: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and David Umahi of Ebonyi State.

“From our own recommendations, as of this morning, we recommended five people. In alphabetical order, we said Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, John Kayode Fayemi, David Umahi and Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Those are the ones we made recommendations and we said we should put them forward,” he stated.

READ: I have no preferred candidate – Buhari, denies anointing Lawan

“Consensus is possible. Right from yesterday up till today, we have been doing consultations like Mr President said, ‘I give you the opportunity, work on it.’

“The governors and the National Working Committee will continue on that consensus. As of yesterday, we were able to even reduce, made recommendations of about five persons, from 23 to recommendations of about 13 aspirants without disqualifying anybody.

“Within that (those) 13 aspirants that were graded by the Screening Committee, we now looked at it and then recommended, that was jointly done by the Progressive governors and members of the National Working Committee, reducing it to five.”

RELIABLESOURCENG.COM reports that Lalong’s comment comes a day after the APC’s NWC as well as the 19 northern governors insisted on a southerner as Nigeria’s next President, following earlier report quoting the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, that Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, was the preferred consensus candidate.

The APC National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu, on Monday clarified the position of the NWC as aligning with that of the northern governors.

While briefing reporters in the company of some members of the NWC, he explained that the committee took the decision following a meeting of its members.

According to Argungu, the NWC stands with the position of the northern governors elected on the APC platform for power to shift to the southern part of the country when President Muhammadu Buhari completes his eight-year two terms billed to lapse in May 29 2023.