President Muhammadu Buhari, has assured members of the All Progressives Congress that a consensus presidential candidate wonโt be imposed on the party.
Speaking at a meeting with the governors at the State House, Abuja, Buhari said โthe party is important and its members must be respected and made to feel they are importantโ.
This was contained in a press statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled, โI have anointed no one, there shall be no imposition, says President Buhariโ.
The statement read, โPresident Muhammadu Buhari, Monday afternoon cleared all doubts about where he stands on the choice of a presidential candidate for the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, declaring before the partyโs 14 governors of northern states that he has โno preferred candidateโ, and has โanointed no oneโ, and is determined to ensure that โthere shall be no imposition of any candidate on the partyโ.
โThe President said he had a clear mind about what he was doing and asked the APC governors to feel the same way: You were elected as I was. Have a clear mind as I have. God gave us the chance; we have no reason to complain. We must be ready to take pain as we take the joy. Allow the delegates to decide. The Party must participate, nobody will appoint anybodyโ.โ
โEarlier in their addresses, the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of the Progressive Governors Forum, said they had come to affirm the position of the Northern Governors that the partyโs candidate in the presidential election shall come from the southern part of the country.
โThey apologised to the President for the leakage of their signed memorandum which was not in support of any particular candidate and gave assurances to the President on their readiness to accept his leadership on the matter,โ the statement added.
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