Leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC from the Northwest geopolitical zone have resolved to aggregate their interests and engage the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The decision of the Northwest APC leaders comes on the heels of ongoing consultations by Tinubu with critical stakeholders on the choice of his running mate.
Tinubu had earlier submitted the name of Ibrahim Kabir Masari from the Northwestern state of Katsina to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC as his running mate.
Party sources had indicated that Masari is only a “place holder”, as his name was submitted to meet the INEC deadline and that he would be changed within the window of substitution provided by the electoral umpire.
However, APC governors, gubernatorial candidates and ministers from the states of the North-West met on Thursday in Kaduna state in what they said was the beginning of series of consultative meetings to strengthen the party in the zone.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting was signed by the National Vice Chairman, Northwest of the party.
Part of the communique 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. Participants acknowledged the challenges facing some state chapters of the party and resolved to promote efforts at reconciliation as an urgent priority.
“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. Therefore, the zone resolved to aggregate its interests and vital concerns and engage accordingly with the presidential candidate of the party.
“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”.