Majority of those aspiring for executive positions to the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress were at the Buhari House, Abuja, on Friday to submit their nomination and expression of interest forms.
Three national chairmanship aspirants of the party refuted the claim that President Muhammadu Buhari may have endorsed Senator Abdullahi Adamu, former Governor of Nasarawa State, for the top position in the party.
Among the chairmanship aspirants who submitted their forms already were Senators Mohammed Sani Musa, Abdullahi Adamu, Tanko Almakura, George Akume, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, and Mallam Mohammed Etsu.
Musa was quoted to have said that if there was any endorsement, the ruling party would not have sold forms to other contestants.
He asked, “Why did the party sell forms to us? You sold forms to us. And, as far as I am concerned, there has never been anybody who officially contacted me or other aspirants. The spokesperson to Mr President, Femi Adesina, has said that there was no endorsement.
“We want a vibrant leadership. We want leadership that will change the status quo. What are we talking about, the endorsement I want is your endorsement. I want the endorsement of 43 million APC members. That is what I need.”
A group within the party known as the Akume Coalition, said that Adamu’s purported endorsement by President Muhammadu Buhari was a media creation.
During a press conference in Abuja, the Director-General of Akume Coalition, Suleiman Zailani, said that the former Benue State governor would reposition and stabilize the party for more victories if given the mandate.
Zailani said, “Akume is God sent, not just to APC but to the Nigerian people. As stakeholders in this project, we will not relent in our campaign based on what is going on on the pages of the newspaper (Abdullahi Adamu’s endorsement) as far as no official communication has been passed on that.
“Our party is very dear to us and is very dear to Nigerians. APC has gone far ahead of any other party in Nigeria. Therefore, the sustenance of APC’s rule in Nigeria beyond 2022 is very fundamental to the life of the Nigerian people.
“On Wednesday, he picked his forms and that makes him a candidate for the convention. We must congratulate Nigerians on that for the kind of succour that is coming to the party and Nigeria at large.
“The party has found itself in one issue or the other coming from leadership gaps but we are calling on party members who are concerned today in the making of the leadership of the party to be steadfast.”
