APC Convention: Aspirants Against Consensus Are Free To Contest – Bagudu

The Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu, on Wednesday, said aspirants against consensus arrangement ahead of the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress are free to contest.

The Kebbi State Governor stated this while addressing newsmen after President Muhammadu Buhari met with APC governors.

The meeting was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and 16 governors from Kebbi, Plateau, Kogi, Yobe, Ogun, Kaduna, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Imo, Niger, Jigawa, Kwara, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Osun, and the Borno States.

Bagudu while speaking on behalf of the progressives governors said they briefed President Buhari on steps being taken to ensure that consensus candidates emerged.

He said, “Our party is a democratic party, we will always urge consensus, we’ll urge respect for the decisions of the party because the distribution of political party offices here has been approved by the highest organ of the party, which is the National Caretaker Committee because they were acting in their capacity as the National Executive Committee of the party.

“But where people still choose to go against the grain, whatever the party constitution allows them because we wouldn’t do anything undemocratic.”

He called on all stakeholders to work with the Caretaker Chairman of the party, Mai Mala Buni to achieve a successful convention.

Bagudu said: “Some of you may recall that last week there was a letter that was widely circulated in the media, addressed to me as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and copied to several others, including the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, the acting Chairman of the Caretaker Committee and indeed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

“That letter led to a series of actions, including meetings between the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Acting Chairman, Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State, as he was then, and myself.

“We all restated our commitment to working together to ensure that the convention takes place on March 26, 2022, and then we agreed to support all the decisions that were taken by the Caretaker Committee, both acting as a working committee and acting with the donated powers given to it by the National Executive Committee.

“Indeed, the Chairman of the Caretaker, upon his return, also appreciated what the Caretaker Committee did and the decisions that were taken in his absence.”

This article was originally published on Nigeria News