Update: President Buhari directs APC governors to search for strong consensus candidate
The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday began moves to pick its consensus candidate with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), explaining qualities the party’s flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election must possess.
Buhari, who said this during his meeting with the 23 APC governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, advised the party to think of the right candidate that possessed the qualities he outlined.
The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, in an interview said the President did not disclose his preferred aspirant but outlined qualities the APC presidential candidate must have.
President in January had said he had a preferred presidential candidate but he would not reveal him.
The president’s media aide Femi Adesina had previously said, “In a previous interview when the President was asked whether he had a favourite candidate, he answered yes; but he would not mention him because mischief might happen to that person.”
Although the President had kept his preferred aspirant to himself, contestants including the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, informed him of their intention to contest the presidency.
Besides the three chieftains, others vying for the party’s presidential ticket include a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; former Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; a former Imo State governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha and former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
