Buhari ‘throws weight behind’ southern presidential candidate

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly backed the call for the southern region to produce the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The president made his position known at a meeting with the presidential hopefuls of the ruling party on Saturday, PUNCH reports.

At the meeting, Buhari asked the APC governors and the presidential hopefuls to brace up for elective primaries, ruling out the possibility of a consensus candidate.

The APC governors from the north had earlier asked the president to look toward the southern presidential hopefuls when considering his successor.

The governors also asked the northern presidential hopefuls to withdraw from the race for the sake of national interest.

“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,” the governors said.

“It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in any way 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.”

Meanwhile, Abubakar Badaru, governor of Jigawa state, announced his withdrawal from the race before the meeting with the president.