Four days to the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), 22 governors of the ruling party are expected to meet again this weekend in Abuja to decide on President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
A top member of the APC from the South confirmed that some of the governors were already in Abuja and warming up for a possible showdown at the meeting.
He told Daily Sun there is palpable tension over the plot to resist the president’s anticipated choice as some governors, including those from the North are yet to be convinced on why Buhari must impose his successor.
The affected governors, it was learnt, enjoy the backing of some northern power brokers.
Our source said the arrowheads, who were impressed with the recent outcome of the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) have demanded that the APC also adopts open primary.
The governors, he said, have become jittery that President Buhari and APC might lose at the poll if the procedure for electing the ruling candidate was not transparent.
It was learnt they also faulted moves by Buhari to limit his search for a successor to the North with only the senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and Governor Yahaya Bello from the North East and North Central respectively in mind.
The governors, our source said, wanted the party to allow more fresh aspirants to participate. He told Daily Sun that the aggrieved governors insisted that reopening of the nomination would enable more aspirants from the North to join the race to enable Buhari have more alternatives.
But it was learnt that aspirants from the South have rejected the moves by the northern governors to reopen nomination after screening has been concluded.
Some of the governors, according to our source, have been trying to lobby the National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, to reopen nomination for presidential primaries.
About five northern governors were alleged to be behind the new plot to cause confusion.
Our source told Daily Sun: “Some of these governors have also been privy to the fact that Buhari might have zeroed in on two or three candidates, including a few Northern aspirants that they don’t want adopted. I think there must be more to this reopening of nomination agenda. We don’t know the mindset of our national chairman on this.”
Our source who was privy to the latest plot, described it as a “dangerous trend for APC as that may deepen the split in the ranks of governors on the platform of the party.
“As the president intensifies consultations on his successor, he has an uphill task ahead. Some of the APC governors, especially those on second term, do not subscribe to the imposition of APC presidential candidate.
“They are forming a group to advise the President to drop the idea because it will erode voters’ confidence in APC and its anointed candidate.
“They also claimed that APC will be setting a bad precedent for the nation’s democracy. Their greatest challenge is how to convince Buhari to buy in their view,” he said.
President Buhari had on Tuesday urged governors on the platform of his party to avail him the privilege of picking his successor as they were allowed to do in their states. He made the appeal when he had audience with the APC governors and the National Chairman of of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
SUN NEWS
