By Akombo Aondona, Abuja
The All Progressive Congress (APC) may have buckled under the adamancy of the party’s presidential aspirants as it has decided to jettison the idea of picking a consensus presidential candidates from among the 28 angling to be the APC standard bearer in the 2023 General Elections.
Indication to this end emerged on Wednesday 25th May, 2022 from no less a person than the National Chairman of the APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, who disclosed that the APC has dropped the consensus option from the Sunday 29 May, 2022 presidential primary.
All is now set therefore, for a battle royale among the 28 aspirants at the Eagle Square, Abuja where the party’s presidential primary shall be held.
Answering questions from journalists in Abuja, Adamu observed that the consensus option would deny the aspirants of their right to fair contest, which many in the party had insisted was undemocratic.
Adamu said: “You can’t stop our party stalwarts from contesting election or aspiring for the presidency. It is their right and we are happy for them. There is nothing wrong for anybody aspiring to the exalted seat of the presidency. It is God that decides who gets what. Once God makes up His mind and say this is who He wants that is what we are praying for. We have 28 aspirants for the presidential ticket and everybody knows that all of them cannot get the ticket. If it is God wish they all can even be president of the country one after the other. Ours is to ensure justice in the choice of who emerges candidate of the party. That does not mean we are perfect. But we pray we do the right thing.”
The APC national chairman added: “We have not produced our candidate for the presidency yet. We have to screen the aspirants to know the way forward. We have aspirants from across the country in the race. We will take the decision when we get there.
“We are the government in power today. In spite all the insults, the APC has the advantage far ahead of the other parties. A sign of a powerful man is the one that is full-blooded and big. Today the APC is the biggest party in Nigeria. It is natural that the APC will attract Nigerians more than any other party. This is where it is happening. Any right-thinking politician would naturally gravitate towards the APC. Of course we have our problems but today we are the cynosure of all eyes. I am hopeful. God willing, we will retain power at the general elections.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had reportedly been in favour of the consensus option, which the National Assembly ostensibly included for him in the Electoral Act 2022 before he could sign it into law.
However, all efforts to convince the APC presidential aspirants to step down for one of them as the consensus candidate apparently came to naught, hence this latest development in which the party has now decided to make them slug it out for the delegates votes on 29 May, 2022.
According to sources, one of the leading aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in particular came under intense pressure to drop his presidential ambition for the consensus candidate – which oscillated among the others from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the ex-Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, to even Senate President Ahmed Lawan, depending on the calculation of power blocs within the party.
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