President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down the request of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to shift ground on his preference for Senator Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman of the ruling party.
The governors presented their position at a meeting with the President on Tuesday before his departure to Nairobi, Kenya.
APC holds its much-talked about National Convention on March 26.
The governors led by the chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, pressured the President to reconsider his position on Adamu.
Adamu, a former Governor of Nasarawa State, is a veteran politician from the Second Republic. He is a ranking senator. He is not a candidate of the governors.
At the meeting held in the President’s Office the governors told the President on the need to allow all the other aspirants to run. They also canvassed reasons against the choice of Adamu.
But a top Presidential aide told journalists that “President Buhari is unyielding and told the governors that there was no basis to drop Adamu. The governors left the meeting disappointed.”
President Buhari reportedly told the governors that he is only interested in the national chairmanship and they can do whatever they like with the other positions.
The governors left the meeting disappointed. “They failed to convince the president to drop Adamu. Mr. President knew that they are more concerned about 2023 elections than rebuilding the party. Some of them are angling for the presidency and vice presidency. As such they want to muscle out other stakeholders because they are governors,” the source said.
After the meeting with the President, the APC governors also held a late-night meeting in Abuja.
The governors have different candidates they are pushing for. Some of the governors are rooting for former Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura while some are backing Senator representing Niger East District, Mohammed Sani-Musa.
The governors at the meeting with the president included Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Aminu Masari (Katsina), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Sani Bello (Niger), Umar Ganduje (Kano), and the outgoing deputy governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke.
Governor Mai Mala Buni, the caretaker chairman, was not at the meeting.
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