Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, has been at the forefront of the call for a power shift to the South in 2023, as well as a key player in the All Progressives Congress’ struggle to produce a formidable front and credible candidate for the presidential race.
Speaking on TVC’s current affairs programme Journalists’ Hangout on Sunday, the Governor stated that his advocate for a Southern presidential candidate stemmed from the need for peace and stability in the country, as well as for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Ganduje added that dialogues have been ongoing with party members for the need to have a Southern Presidential candidate and he is happy that some have started dropping their ambition for the sake of peace and stability in the country, as well as peace and stability in the party.
“Dialogues are still ongoing with the remaining candidates, until they change their mind and drop their ambition. It is a continuous process and i believe even at the dying minute we can succeed in doing that. They are all credible aspirants and they are people of honour and we will continue to discuss with them until we succeed.
“Zoning is a gentleman’s agreement, and we believe our APC leaders are gentlemen and gentlewomen. That is how we came up with this recommendation, which we conveyed to Mr President, and I am pleased that he has agreed to it”, he said.
The Governor stated that convincing party members to have power zoned to the South has not been easy but given the facts on the ground, as well as personal experiences, he believes zoning should be respected, and that it should be the turn of the Southern aspirant.
Ganduje further added “We worked extremely hard to save the northern politicians’ niche, particularly those in the APC, as well as to maintain peace and stability. This is a hard fact, But this is not the first time, such thing happened. When the NPN decided to zone the presidency to the Northern part of the country in 1979, a mini convention was held in Kaduna, and I, as a young graduate and politician, took part in the selection of six presidential candidates.
“We chose six people, including our great president, Shehu Shagari of blessed memory, Maitam Sule of blessed memory, Adamu Ciroma of blessed memory, Takar from Benue, Sola Saraki of blessed memory, and the former vice chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, and presented them to the National Convention in Lagos, where Shagari was elected. You can see that zoning is not a new concept; zoning is a gentleman’s agreement, so there is nothing new to persuade our colleagues to support this resolution. We are pleased that Mr. President has accepted it”.
https://www.tvcnews.tv/2022/06/buhari-will-adopt-nobody-but-tinubu-shettima/
