‘Our zone produced 39% of votes’ — APC north-west leaders to meet Tinubu over 2023 polls

Stakeholders of the north-west zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday, met in Kaduna to discuss plans to present a united front ahead of the 2023 elections.

According to a statement issued by Salihu Lukman, APC national vice-chairman of the north-west zone, discussions at the meeting which held on Thursday, focused on plans by the zonal leaders to meet with Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate.

The development comes amid speculations over who Tinubu will pick as his running mate.

Although Kabiru Masari, former APC welfare secretary, has been announced as placeholder vice-presidential candidate for the party, Tinubu had recently said he is yet to make a decision on who would be his running mate for the 2023 polls.

According to Lukman, resolutions were also taken on promoting efforts at reconciliation as an urgent priority, as well as addressing challenges affecting some state chapters.

The meeting comprised APC governors, ministers, governorship candidates and other stakeholders from the zone.

Lukman said the consultations are “vital for strengthening the APC in the north-west and to improve leadership engagements and cohesion within the zone”.

“Participants requested the National Vice-Chairman (North-West) to ensure that the consultative meeting is sustained as a vital tool for cohesion within the party,” the statement reads.

“Participants received the zonal report from the National Vice Chairman (North-West) and reviewed the state of the party at the national level and within the zone.

“The zonal meeting welcomed the successful conclusion of primaries at the state and national levels.

“The meeting noted the contribution of the North-West to the emergence and growth of the APC and its electoral viability, with the North-West providing about 39% of the votes the APC recorded in the 2019 and 2015 presidential elections.”

The zone, therefore, “resolved to aggregate its interests and vital concerns and engage accordingly with the presidential candidate of the party”.