APC governors show support for Osinbajo ahead of primaries

As the presidential primaries of the All Progressive Congress draws closer, reports have emerged that several governors under the party have decided to show their support for Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

This was disclosed in a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, citing that several APC governors were sighted in the Presidential Villa meeting with Osinbajo and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

This also comes a few days after President Muhammadu Buhari met the governors to drum his interest in a likely candidate for the party to support.

The report stated that the governors sighted in the Villa between Wednesday and Friday included those of Kano, Ogun, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa and Ebonyi.

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According to a reliable source, a clear majority of the 22 governors on the platform of the ruling party under the aegis of the Progressive Governors Forum  appeared to have agreed on supporting the candidature of Osinbajo, ahead of the primaries commencing on Monday.

Northern Governors were also in attendance including Governors from Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa and Gombe opposed to a northern presidential candidate for APC.

The governors indicated they had agreed that the presidency should be zoned to the South, with Osinbajo as the candidate.

”The heroes of this whole thing are the governors of Borno, Nasarawa and Gombe who, even though they are from the North, argued that the vice president from the South fits the bill perfectly.

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“Kaduna and Borno governors were also of the same view but the Kaduna governor has not been seen in the Villa this week. He was represented by his deputy at the meeting with the president on Tuesday,” the source said.

“Some governors wanted a northern candidate to challenge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate but some other northern governors kicked against it. They said that it is morally right for power to return to the South.

“The governors represented different interests at the meeting and were all pushing for their candidate but there were more governors who were loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari and who wanted to reciprocate the president’s gesture.

“There were others who also insisted that Mr VP was the most popular candidate based on the feedback that the governors got from delegates in their states and they were almost certain and very confident he would defeat candidates from other parties including Atiku,” the source added.

Yemi Osinbajo will face Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi, Ahmed Lawan and others in an election to become the party’s presidential flag bearer ahead of the 2023 presidential election.