The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has met the All Progressives Congress’ governors ahead of the party’s presidential primary this weekend.
Premium Politics reported that the ruling party began screening its presidential aspirants on Monday ahead of the primary rescheduled to hold this weekend.
However, Channels TV reported that the President held a meeting with members of the Progressives Governors’ Forum at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
It is expected to give guidance on who should emerge as the flagbearer of the APC amid the screening of the party’s presidential aspirants by the committee led by a former Edo State Governor and former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun.
Earlier, APC governors had expressed a desire to go along with the choice of the President on the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate.
At least 28 aspirants picked the APC presidential nomination and expression of interest forms sold at N100 million each.
While the presidential hopefuls paid for the forms themselves in some cases, various interest groups purchased the nomination tickets for their preferred aspirants – a move that was rejected by some of the beneficiaries.
These beneficiaries were former President Goodluck Jonathan and the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, who turned down the offer.
Similarly, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; though obtained the forms or by proxy in some cases, they did not submit their forms and therefore not eligible for screening.