The Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) on Wednesday declared its support for consensus method of choosing presidential and other candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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 which comprises APC governors 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, who is also the governor of Imo State, 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.”
Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, who also attended the meeting, is the only progressive governor that had openly kicked against a consensus arrangement. He however made a U-turn recently.
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.
During Buhari declaration last week, many of them attended unlike when another aspirant and a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, joined the race.
Kwankwaso and the publisher of Leadership newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah, are the other known APC presidential aspirants.
When contacted, 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.”
Attempts to get comments from the Kwankwaso campaign were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed, said he was not privy to the outcome of the PGF meeting.
“The meeting in Ilorin is that of the PGF. I am not aware of the outcome; so I cannot comment.”
Also, Okorocha decried the dwindling national revenue and lamented that some states were finding it difficult to pay workers’ salaries.
He stated that the forum would seek an audience with President Goodluck Jonathan over the issue.
He wondered why the allocations that were due to states and council areas were being withheld even when the Federal Government had told the whole world that Nigeria was not financially handicapped.
Okorocha said that the forum believed that the APC would provide Nigeria the long awaited purposeful and visionary leadership in 2015.
He added that the APC governors were in full support of the activities of the party leadership and assured Nigerians that a credible presidential candidate would be presented to them by the APC.
The governor said, “We looked at the dwindling revenue from the FAAC to the states on a monthly basis. This has made it difficult for most states to pay salaries.
“This has become of a very serious concern to us as governors and we felt that issues that affect the lives of our people must never be politicised.
“We refuse to accept that this nation is broke. I thank God that the Federal Government is not broke and if the nation is not broke, what is due to the states as revenues should be paid to them.
“This idea of cutting down what should go to states does not in any way promote democracy and democratic dividends. So, we, as progressive governors, do call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of dwindling resources or convince us as to why the states should not get what is due to them.
“We do not know why our colleagues in the PDP are not talking about this matter.
“If they are not talking, it is either they are not affected or somehow they are getting something from the back door which we do not know.
“But if that is not the reason, I think the Presidency or the Federal Government should act quickly on the present ugly situation that had made it difficult for most states to pay the basic salaries of their workers.”
He said the forum also deliberated on the need for Nigerians to continue to pray for the successful conduct of elections in 2015. – Punch.v
