Ahead of the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), political horse trading and last minutes negotiations are presently going on among stakeholders in the Southern part of the country where the presidential ticket has been technically zoned to.

Although the party listed Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7, as the dates of the convention, the programme sighted by Daily Independent showed that the primary will take place on Tuesday where delegates are expected to elect the party’s next flagbearer.

Many Nigerians had thought the party will zone the ticket to the South since President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner is already completing his two terms of eight years, however, the party decided to throw the ticket open to all qualified aspirants across the country.

John Odigie-Oyegun -led screening committee screened 23 presidential aspirants last week and disqualified 10 of them from partaking in the primary election.

However, the leadership of the party disagreed with the recommendations of the committee and announced that it will be allowing all the aspirants to have their day at the primary election.

Events, however, took a dramatic twist at the weekend as 11 Northern APC governors and leaders informed President Muhammadu Buhari of their decision to back power shift to the South and asked Northern aspirants to quit the race.

Following this, Jigawa State governor, Mohammed Badaru, withdrew from the race. However, the other three Northern aspirants, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, and former Zamfara State governor, Ahmed Yerima, are yet to quit.

Other aspirants currently in the race are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Governor Kayode Fayemi; ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; ex-Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; ex-Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, and former Minister of Niger DeltaAffairs, GodswillAkpabio.

Others include ex-Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha; Pastor Tunde Bakare; Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade; former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; Ikeobasi Mokelu; former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole; Felix Nicholas, Senator Robert Borrofice, Tein Jack Rich, and Uju Ken Ohanenye.

Also during his meeting with the aspirants at the weekend, President Buhari asked them to consult among themselves and choose a formidable candidate before the party’s presidential primary.

Also, in a bid to present a consensus candidate, presidential aspirants and key stakeholders met in Abuja on Saturday night till the early hours of Sunday.

However, the meeting was deadlocked as none of the aspirants which include Osinbajo, Tinubu, Fayemi, Amosun, Boroffice, Bankole, and Pastor Bakare agreed to step down.

Speaking on how the delegates will vote, a member of the National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the governors will determine the voting pattern at the convention.

“The governors will determine the fate of the aspirants. In Lagos State, I see Governor Sanwo-Olu delivering the state to Tinubu. The same with Governor Oyetola of Osun State, the delegates will align with Tinubu.

“In Ekiti, the delegates will queue behind Fayemi if he doesn’t withdraw from the race while those of Ogun State will queue behind the Vice President Osinbajo.

“I see the Northern aspirants withdrawing between today and tomorrow following the recommendation of the Northern governors that power should go South. If they don’t withdraw, I don’t see them getting delegate votes because the governors will direct them to give their votes to the Southern aspirants if there is no consensus candidate”.

Also on Sunday, strong indications emerged that not less than 18 of the APC governors may be rooting for the presidential ambition of Fayemi who is the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

Party sources said this development may be in tandem with the decision of members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) across party lines that they must all work to ensure that one of them emerges the next president of Nigeria.

Multiple sources close to the inner workings of the NGF revealed that this decision had been sealed among the governors as far back as early 2021.

The governors were said to have been unanimous on one thing, that only a serving governor who feels the pain of the shoes of the present lopsided fiscal federalism status quo the states are forced to wear can effect drastic changes.

“This was what motivated the high number of governors across party lines to join the presidential race. The governors were also clear that only a governor of the present set and not the 1999 set could understand the issues better and make sweeping changes,” a source said.

Another member of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, who also spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, also said, “Fayemi’s meeting with the governors is in continuation of the engagements he had had with them in the past and the recent meetings were at the instance of the governors, who wanted assurances on a number of issues.

“We are very optimistic about Fayemi’s chances and in the next couple of hours, many of the other governors on the sideline would come on board. We believe that some of the governors who are also aspiring would queue behind Fayemi.”

He further said: “Many governors have already pledged their support to Fayemi. They have also reiterated their stance that it is their collective decision for a governor to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari. With the support of 18 governors, Fayemi is expected to put up a strong fight for the presidential ticket of the APC.

“Fayemi’s choice is the least problematic for President Buhari because the governors control the delegates and will always direct them to put the vote behind the president’s anointed candidate. It is easier for the president to ask the governors to vote for one of their own than anyone outside that fold. That is the type of sense of solidarity among the governors,” the source explained.

In a related development, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Sunday said he will support whoever President Buhari picks as the consensus candidate.

He, however, said he will not accept the recommendations of the Northern governors on power shift to the South, saying it is not binding on him.

“If it comes from President Buhari himself, I will one hundred percent support the person if I am not selected. If it is any other person, I will support the person because that is his wisdom. He knows better than me and he sees better than me”, he said. (Daily Independent)

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