Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has described the announcement of Senator Ahmed Lawan as consensus candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), by its National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, as an “expensive joke”.
He said this in a statement on Monday night.
Daily Trust had reported that members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) were divided on Monday over Lawan’s announcement as the APC consensus candidate.
Akeredolu, who is the chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, in the statement titled, ‘Abdullahi Adamu on a frolic of his own’ said it was contrary to the position of APC northern governors and their counterpart in the South, adding that the national chairman was on a ‘flight of fancy’ when he made a pronouncement that was beyond his competence.
“My attention has just been drawn to the expensive joke purportedly enacted by the National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
“The speculation is rife that the Chairman took a flight of fancy and decided to make a pronouncement beyond his competence.
“He has, allegedly, made public his preferred choice as the candidate of the APC for the Office of the President in the next general elections.
“This alleged pronouncement runs contrary to the position of majority of Northern Governors in APC and their counterparts in the South. Our agreement is unanimous on this issue.
“The Office of the President should be contested for by qualified persons from the Southern part of the country if the move to get a consensus candidate fails. There has been no shift from this settled issue.
“Let it be known that the Chairman or anyone who holds a contrary opinion does so at a personal level. He is at best embarking on a frolic which reasonable people will consider dangerous.
“We are grieving but have not forgotten that Power MUST shift to the south. On this we stand,” the statement read.
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