Five presidential aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-East geopolitical zone have alleged that the majority of the Northern governors who reportedly compiled some names and submitted same to President Muhammadu Buhari were promised and also given various forms of gratifications in order to thwart the process in favour of one aspirant.
The aspirants including Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Senator Ben Ayade, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Emeka Nwajiuba, PhD and Jack-Rich Tien in a joint statement said they have been inundated in the past few hours with calls and messages from their supporters and concerned Nigerians on a list of five presidential aspirants submitted to President Buhari to choose from.
They said as long as they are concerned, no list has been submitted to Mr President. The move by some governors, according to them, is a joke taken to the extreme with the aim of playing with the intellect of Nigerians particularly the aspirants from the South-East.
“Mr President’s directive is very simple, that all Presidential aspirants including those from the North should meet and harmonise in order to produce a single candidate. As it stands we have not been consulted or attended a meeting where it was agreed that such names be sent to Mr President.
“In the so-called list out of the five names only one was selected from the South-East and we are talking about fairness and justice to the South. What the Governors have done is a mere picnic in the park. These are the same Governors talking about Equity, justice and fairness yet in a clandestine manner purportedly sidelined the South East.
“In the absence of any harmonised agreement no list has been submitted to Mr President, what they have done is just nothing but a charade which is bound to fail.
“We also have it on good authority that the majority of these Governors have been promised and also given various forms of gratifications in order to thwart the process in favour of one aspirant and such grand plot will fail woefully.
The aspirants while pointing out that the party led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu remains the official organ of the party through which decisions taken by stakeholders in the party will be communicated and acted upon, said in the absence of that any other move remains null and void.
“We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard such information, as we remain in the race hence no consensus agreement has been reached amongst all contestants”,