APC hints at indirect primaries as presidential aspirants weigh options

There are strong indications that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 election will emerge through indirect primaries.

Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, who is also the Chairman of Progressives Governors’ Forum, gave the hint after Wednesday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

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“No party can thrive without equal opportunity. Those who have done well should be supported by the party. We believe that equal opportunity will ensure a proper result.

“There was no explicit decision about the mode of primaries but the timetable seems to suggest that it is indirect primaries,” he said.

Asked to state the mode of presidential primaries adopted by the NEC, Barrister Felix Morka,  National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, said, “That will be issued subsequently. The details out of this meeting will be worked out. meeting is convened to take decisions on the key points that are already shared.

“All of the details in between, I will be coming before you in a few days to share these details. The NEC’s authority has been ceded to the National Working Committee (NWC) and the committee will meet based on today’s event (yesterday) and the authority derived from this meeting to trash out and work out some of the details which I will share with you in the coming weeks”

Our corespondent reports that the APC constitution provides for consensus, direct or indirect mode of primaries for the selection of its candidates for elections.

Meanwhile, presidential aspirants of the party have started weighing their options on the election as a result of the cost of the sale of forms.

The party has fixed N100 million for the expression of interest and nomination presidential forms and N50 million for governorship forms.

Reacting to this, Adamu Garba, a presidential hopeful, expressed shock, sounding as if he was contemplating withdrawing from the race.

“If we don’t come together and use our collective power to save this country from the strangulation of the moneybags, we are doing a great disservice to our generation and that of the future. We cannot continue to buy political offices in Nigeria, we need competent leaders come 2023.”

But supporters of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a frontline Presidential aspirant, have began the move for him to purchase the ticket.

Shortly after NEC ratified the amount of forms, Director-General of the Tinubu Support Group (TSO), Aminu Suleiman, offered to purchase the forms for Tinubu.

“I, Hon. Aminu Suleiman (D.G TSO) would like to officially state that I have signed a cheque to the tune of 100 million naira, for the purchase of nomination and expression of interest form for our Leader @officialABAT. God bless,” he posted on Twitter.