All Progressives Congress governors from the North on Monday maintained their position to back a southerner as presidential candidate of the ruling party in the 2023 general elections.
Northern Governors’ Forum Chairman and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, made this known while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja after 13 of them from the North met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
He said that the leaked memo that went viral last Saturday, which spoke about northern governors’ resolution to support a southern APC presidential candidate, was the true position of the northern governors and they came to officially consult with the president.
Lalong said that President Buhari has not anointed any of the 23 aspirants expected to participate in the party’s primary as the flagbearer of the APC.
According to him, the President asked the governors to have a meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to resolve the issue of a consensus candidate through democratic means.
Lalong insisted that the resolution of the governors to return power to the South was to ensure equity, peace, and unity in the country.
Other governors who attended the meeting are Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Aminu Masari of Katsina, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, and Abubakar Bello of Niger.
Other are Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe.