Succession: Presidency Reacts To Buhari’s Meeting With APC Governors

The Presidency has reacted to the outcome of the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Naija News recalls that the President had appealed to the APC governors to allow him to pick his preferred successor ahead of the party’s presidential primaries on June 6.

Buhari made the appeal during a meeting with the governors and the National Chairman of the ruling party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

President Buhari during the meeting also called on APC governors to make decisions that would enable the party to remain in power.

Reacting to the development, Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina said the President did not mention consensus or imposition of a presidential candidate on APC during the meeting with the governors.

Adesina made this known in an article, titled: “Visit to Spain: Let’s Buga for Mr. President,” released on his Facebook page on Thursday night.

The presidential spokesman said Buhari only asked the governors to allow their plans to converge and ensure that the best presidential candidate emerge at the June 6 primary election.

He wrote: “No word about zoning, consensus, or imposition of candidate. He just charged them to let their plans converge, so that the party would put its best foot forward. Shortly after the meeting, we headed for the airport.

“A short time into the about five hours flight, I went on social media, to see that all hell had broken loose. Trust some Nigerians. When there’s no controversy, they simply create one. They will die of boredom if they don’t have something to wail or ululate about.

“What were they bellyaching on? Oh, he used the words ‘my successor,’ instead of ‘APC candidate.’ That means he wants to rig the election. Otiose.

“Oh, he talked about Governors who performed well being given the opportunity to get a second term, for continuity. That means he wants to impose someone from within the government to succeed him. Consensus is what he wants. Puerile.

“Is consensus not one of the acceptable ways of choosing candidates, according to the Electoral Act? So the party can jolly well decide on the method it wants.

“Oh, he didn’t talk about zoning. APC wants to give its ticket to the North. Really? Did you see anything like that in the speech?

“I tell you. When some Nigerians don’t see what they expect in a speech or statement, they simply conjure and create their own. And the wailing starts.”