S/West Leaders Mount Pressure On Osinbajo To Step Down For Tinubu As Fayemi May Drop For VP

Last minute consultations are still ongoing to reduce the number of aspirants contesting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket.

Naija News reports that northern APC governors had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to select one out of five names given to him as the party’s consensus presidential candidate.

The five aspirants are Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi, David Umahi, Kayode Fayemi and Yemi Osinbajo.

Of the five aspirants, Osinbajo, Tinubu and Fayemi are all from the South-West.

According to Vanguard, South-West leaders including traditional rulers are said to be pressuring Osinbajo to step down for Asiwaju Tinubu.

It was also gathered that there are also moves to get Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State to step down for Osinbajo.

Fayemi, the current chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, is said to be banking on the support of his brother governors in the APC to grab the party’s ticket.

However, some governors reportedly eyeing the vice presidential slot have already thrown their weights behind Tinubu and Osinbajo.

Sources said the South-West leaders want one candidate from the zone hence the pressure on Osinbajo and Fayemi to step down for Tinubu.

A top party leader said: “A lot of meetings are going on. If the meetings yield result only two aspirants will remain and the primaries will not take long to conclude.”

Sources close Tinubu said the former Lagos Governor is not ready to step down for any aspirant, including the VP.

“If there is going to be a consensus, he said he is the consensus candidate otherwise let’s go for primaries,” a member of the Tinubu Campaign also disclosed.