President Buhari denies anointing any presidential aspirant, says no to imposition of Candidate

By Mohammed Kaka Misau

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has denied insinuations that he is harboring a preferred presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress ahead the party’s convention.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
June 6, 2022

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu made this known in a press statement Monday to clear all doubts about stand of his Principal regarding who should be the party’s candidate ahead 2023 general elections.

According to him, the President has declared before the party’s 14 governors of northern states that he has “no preferred candidate,” and has “anointed no one,”

Garba pointed out that the president equally made it known that he is determined to ensure that no one is imposed on the APC as its candidate.

Garba Shehu further explained that president Muhammadu had while speaking at a meeting with the Governors at the State House, Abuja, said the party is important and its members must be respected, and made to feel they are important.

He added that the President said he had a clear mind about what he was doing and had asked the APC governors to feel the same way.

“You were elected as I was. Have a clear mind as I have. God gave us the chance; we have no reason to complain. We must be ready to take pain as we take the joy. Allow the delegates to decide. The Party must participate, nobody will appoint anybody”, Garba Shehu quoted the president to have said.

“Earlier in their addresses, the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of the Progressive Governors Forum, said they had come to affirm the position of the Northern Governors that the party’s candidate in the presidential election shall come from the southern part of the country”, the statement maintained.

It added that Progressive Governors even apologised to the President for the leakage of their signed memorandum which was not in support of any particular candidate and gave assurances to the President on their readiness to accept his leadership on the matter.