Some of the governors are dismissing the view that only a northern candidate can match the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at the poll. They believe the former VP can be beaten by a candidate from the South.

By Bisi Abidoye
At least nine northern state governors are urging their colleagues to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick its presidential candidate for the 2023 election from the southern part of Nigeria.

The party will nominate its presidential candidate at its National Convention in Abuja next week. Twenty-three (23) aspirants have been screened to participate in the primary, 19 of whom are from across the three geopolitical zones in the South.

But a push has intensified for the party to look north in its choice since the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday picked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its own candidate for the poll.

On Tuesday, President Buhari met with the 22 APC state governors and urged them to support him in picking his preferred successor.

Following the president’s statement, the state government met twice on Tuesday but could not agree on who to recommend to the president for consideration and whether the party should consider nominating a candidate from the North.

The APC has 14 governors in the North and eight in the South. While there is a consensus among the southern state governors that their region should produce President Buhari’s successor, five of their colleagues in the North think only a northern candidate can defeat the PDP candidate, Mr Abubakar.

However, in previous discussions among the governors and in other fora, nine northern governors had argued that it is not in the interests of national cohesion and social justice for the presidency to remain in the north in 2023, after eight years of the Buhari presidency.

These governors also dismissed the view held by some of their northern colleagues that only a northern candidate can win the presidential poll for the APC.

The nine governors rooting for a power shift to the South are Babagana Zulum of Borno, Simeon Lalong of Plateau, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano. Others are Aminu Masari of Katsina, Abubakar Bello of Niger, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara.

“Kwara, Kano and Katsina are less vocal but they all support the view that as Northerners, we should honour the unwritten agreement (power rotation between North and South). Governors El-Rufai, Zulum and Lalong are more vocal,” a governor said.

However, the nine governors do not agree on who the choice from the South should be because “there are many contending aspirations. What unites us is that they all believe in southern presidency at this time,” said the source.

“We have our various preferences we are keeping to ourselves,” the source said. “But Ganduje clearly prefers Tinubu while Lalong prefers Amaechi. The Niger governor too is following Tinubu but the Nasarawa governor prefers the VP (Yemi Osinbajo) or Tinubu.”

On Wednesday, Mr Ganduje was in the entourage of Mr Tinubu as the former Lagos Governor continued his campaign tour of the country.

A former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, was also in the delegation. Mr Al-Makura was the choice of APC leaders in Nasarawa for the position of national chairman of the party until another former governor of the state, Abdullahi Adamu, made a late entrance into the race and was named as the consensus candidate with the approval of Mr Buhari.

Southern governors united
On their part, the eight southern governors are united in their demand for a southern candidate.

However, the governors could not agree on an aspirant for recommendation to the president for consideration as his preferred candidate.

Three of the governors are among the 19 presidential aspirants of the party. These are Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Ben Ayade of Cross River and David Umahi of Ebonyi.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/534355-nine-northern-governors-pushing-for-southern-apc-presidential-candidate.html


Lalasticlala

Atiku's candidacy has jeopardized everything

The Northern Governors opinions count for nothing.

Just as they all chose their successors, Buhari will choose his, whether north or south and we’re all sure it won’t be Thiefnibu.

Political 2 + 2.

Push a southerner into APC and all of them swerves back, mobilises and votes their brother in PDP

North wants to win again with Atiku. Nawa

DamianX:
North wants to win again with Atiku. Nawa

You got it.

Lmfao odili part two

mrvitalis:
Lmfao odili part two

You will understand that the Yorubas are not political minority like the Ibos.

That APC ticket is coming to the South. I can bet everything betable.

Whether it’s now given to Asiwaju, Osinbajo, or Amaechi is another thing. But it will be brought to the South.

Shame on Orji Kalu the coward who chickened out of the contest like Obi Pandora did in PDP.

God bless Umahi.

Many Northern APC governors are supporting a Southern candidate, at least i am 100 percent sure about El Rufai and Zulum.

But many of the Southern governors in PDP supported Atiku.

And PDP is supposed to be the Southern /Christian party while APC is supposed to be the Islamic / Jihadist party!

I just don't get this irony.

Powerful Northern Governors are busy fighting the cause of Tinubu Presidency. It's a proof that Tinubu has earned his dues over the years of making men across the country and that's what separates the men of SW from the boys of red cap region where their leaders are busy licking Lawan's fart.
City Boy all the way!

-Okoro bufo

Na lie dem dey lie. For media, dem dey yarn that dust, but for back them don already agree the northerner wen dem go back. After primaries, dem go Start to dey talk about 4th mainland bridge building and wall of China fence mending

I still stand gidigba on Tinubu's mandate

OkoroBufo:
Powerful Northern Governors are busy fighting the cause of Tinubu Presidency. It's a proof that Tinubu has earned his dues over the years of making men across the country and that's what separates the men from the boys from the red cap region where their leaders are busy licking Lawan's fart.
City Boy all the way!

-Okoro bufo

Even DIRTYBOY know sey na Game Over for am. Him jus dey use you catch fun before him retire to him house

mighty2:
I still stand gidigba on Tinubu's mandate

No worry. You go fall felele on him manhood after primaries

Taqiya lies,..
In the night before the convention proper, they will disappear and come out with their game plan.
Don't trust these ones! Take them serious at your own peril.

Lying for premordial benefits is allowed in their culture.

osinbanjoisaliar:
Na lie dem dey lie. For media, dem dey yarn that dust, but for back them don already agree the northerner wen dem go back. After primaries, dem go Start to dey talk about 4th mainland bridge building and wall of China fence mending

Na lie, if not many of them like El Rufai would have bought forms.

Make we dey talk true sometimes... Nobody go kill you.

Northerners are more honorable I swear.
This is happening when someone like Kalu is singing a song based solely on the lyrics of hatred.

osinbanjoisaliar:


No worry. You go fall felele on him manhood after primaries

same trash from yeebow human, alaye go roll with your fellow p!gs jare

Very ironic if you ask me. Northerners seem to have more honor.

tesppidd:
Many Northern APC governors are supporting a Southern candidate, at least i am 100 percent sure about El Rufai and Zulum.

But many of the Southern governors in PDP supported Atiku.

And PDP is supposed to be the Southern /Christian party while APC is supposed to be the Islamic / Jihadist party!

I just don't get this irony.

All this suspense would soon be story.

All we know is Ashiwaju Jagaban is getting APC ticket.

Shikena

Philipponzaghi:


You will understand that the Yorubas are not political minority like the Ibos.

That APC ticket is coming to the South. I can bet everything betable.

Whether it’s now given to Asiwaju, Osinbajo, or Amaechi is another thing. But it will be brought to the South.

Shame on Orji Kalu the coward who chickened out of the contest like Obi Pandora did in PDP.

God bless Umahi.

You people are too myopic to not see the truth in what Orji Kalu said.

The South claims power rotation for fairness and equity but still can't allow the South East to take it.
South South and South West are still fighting for it.

For goodness sake if the South cannot be fair and give it to the SE then there is nothing like fairness and equity.

Anyone who can't see the truth in Kalu's position is a shameless hypocrite.

Tinubu is winning this one clearly. Shame to the bitter soul Uzor kalu. I said it from the beginning that he's on a losing side and he's going to cry endlessly for his stupidity. They don't know how to play politics but hate those who know the game.

By the way, Osinbajo is just a feather weight. Aside being a VP he's politically empty. No governor is standing firm with him.

From the report:
Plateau governor....... Amaechi
Kano, Niger, Bornu....... Tinubu
Nasarawa......... VP/Tinubu

No wonder the VP is begging for consensus. No consensus, he must come and meet his mate at the eagles square for thorough flogging.

MikoB....... Niger governor for Tinubu
Even nasarawa will fall to Tinubu eventually because of the involvement of Al makura.

all this ones are sca., let Atiku give south East as Vice president and lets us in Sout south Shock Southwest smalll.

when southwest left us in 2015 to vote vos of thier VP SLOT, we are now ready to deal with them tooo
last last everbody must have sense

Tinubu ll be the next president. If Una no dash us Tinubu, bring oshinbajo

Apc must be careful not to play the hateful game. Only tinubu has the same popularity and craze as atiku

Northerners shouldn't be clamouring for presidency at this moment