Governors of the All Progressives Congress )APC), under the platform of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF, yesterday rose from a meeting in Ilorin with a declaration that they are in support of consensus method of choosing presidential and other candidates for the All Progressives Congress.
The PGF Chairman, Rochas Okorocha, who announced this to journalists after the forum’s meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday, added that neither the forum nor the party had adopted any candidate for the 2015 general elections.
He said the forum was in support of consensus method of choosing candidates so long as there would be no imposition of anyone on members of the party.
Okorocha, added that in the event of a consensus not being reached, the APC could go for credible and transparent primaries.
The governor said, “On consensus, our forum is in full support of consensus as one of the ways to produce our presidential candidate or any candidate in the party for as long as it is done with regard to respect for internal democracy. There will be no imposition of candidates in our party.
“Our party has not adopted any candidate neither has the forum but we shall encourage consensus and dialogue within the leadership of the party and aspirants to see how we can come up with a candidate but where that is not possible, like true progressives, we shall have a free and fair primary.”
It is widely believed that the APC leadership and many of the governors are rooting for a former Head of State, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as the party’s consensus candidate.
But the Atiku Campaign Organisation said there was nothing alien about the PGF decision on consensus candidacy.
The organisation however argued that “the best form of consensus is the decision of voters in a free and open contest.”
Its Director-General, Mallam Garba Shehu, in an email to one of our correspondents, noted that information available to the organisation, was that the governors reiterated what was already in the APC constitution.
It said “The information we got from the PGF secretariat is that they said that the APC should explore the option of consensus as provided for by the constitution but where that fails, it should carry out a free, fair and transparent election for a candidate to emerge.
“As far as we are concerned, there is nothing new that has emerged from the meeting. The highest office in a democracy is the office of the voter.
“We have always said that the best form of consensus is the decision of voters in a free and open contest. Who is afraid of the voter? Consensus is a willing process. People must subject themselves to it. It can’t be imposed.”
The meeting was attended by Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State; Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers; Ibrahim Gidan, Yobe; Kassim Shettima, Borno; Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo and Rauf Aregbesola, Osun.
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and his Edo State counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole, were said to have traveled abroad.
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