Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio said they would surrender themselves to the controversial consensus option.
Consensus arrangement is one of the processes allowed by Electoral Act, 2022 for election of candidates or delegates of any political party.
Lawan and Akpabio bared their minds to journalists after appearing before a seven- man screening Committee for All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential aspirants led by former national chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, on Tuesday.
This was after President Muhammadu Buhari had, at a meeting with APC governors on Tuesday, urged them to allow him pick his preferred successor.
Read also: 2023: Buhari has a preferred presidential candidate – Adesina
Lawan said he was confident of emerging the APC standard bearer but said he would accept anyone Buhari pronounced as his anointed candidate.
“We are sons and daughters of the same father and mother. Those of us in APC, all of us who took the forms to run for the highest office of the President believe in the same philosophy and ideology of our party.
Therefore, we are one and the same thing. I will support anybody who rules the party and who the President thinks can do better for us. I have no problem with that. I want to also believe that at the end of the day, I will emerge.”
Akpabio noted that “We all know the party is supreme,” commending the Oyegun panel for being thorough in carrying out its assignment.
“I think it is quite rigorous and the checklist is very good. At least, they will be able to know the aspirants in totality and also get their idea of how they are doing to run the affairs of the country and take the country from the present level to the next level.
”The array of politicians I have seen there are people who are grassroots-based. They asked what the aspirants have for the progress of the country; security, unity of the country which is very fragile and the economy and how to bring much productivity and infrastructure,’’ the former Akwa Ibom Governor added.
Ten aspirants appeared before the team for screening while one was absent.
Former Imo State Governor and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha could not appear before the Oyegun Committee as he was still trying to meet bail conditions given by the court where he was arraigned by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) for alleged financial sleaze.
Those who appeared before the screening panel on Tuesday were Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and entrepreneur, Tein Jack Rich.
Others were Cross Rivers State Governor, Ben Ayade; former Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonaya Onu, Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
