- Ask All Northern Presidential Aspirants To Step Down
The Northern Governors elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have endorsed the transfer of power to the South.
The Northern governors also directed all aspirants from the region to withdraw from the presidential race.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the governors on Saturday night in Abuja. The governors noted that the presidency should be transferred to the South in a bid to allow for equity and fairness.
This was contained in a commique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the governors.
Also, shortly after the meeting, Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa state announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential contest.
With the development, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Senate President Ahmed Lawan, among other Northern aspirants are excepted to withdraw from the race.
The communique partly reads, “After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria.
“It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in anyway affected by the decisions taken by another political party. We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country.
“We therefore wish to strongly recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari that the search for a successor as the APC’s presidential candidate be limited to our compatriots from the southern states. We appeal to all aspirants from the northern states to withdraw in the national interest and allow only the aspirants from the south to proceed to the primaries. We are delighted by the decision of our esteemed colleague, His Excellency, Governor Abubakar Badaru to contribute to this patriotic quest by withdrawing his presidential aspiration.”
