Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi and four other All Progressives Congress presidential aspirants from the South-West are expected to hold a final meeting in Abuja today (Saturday) to discus on possible consensus arrangement ahead of the party’s primaries.
Other presidential aspirants from the zone include; former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Ajayi Boroffice; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; and Senior pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare.
Also expected at the meeting are governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun) and Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo). Some ministers of South-West extraction are also expected to attend the parley.
According to PUNCH, impeccable sources said the meeting which would hold at the Abuja home of a former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, around 8pm would border on South-West unity and reach a possible consensus.
One of the aspirants, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We will all be meeting at Chief Osoba’s home by 8pm in Abuja. Everyone is expected to be present. We will all sit together and discuss the need to ensure that the South-West gets the ticket.
“However, all of us will be asked to be truthful with one another and see who among us has the best chance of winning the primary. Then if anyone is willing to step down to boost the chances of the South-West, then this will be encouraged.”
The aforementioned publication reported that intense lobbying by some northern governors to ensure that the APC gives its presidential ticket to a northerner had unsettled the South-West bloc of the party.
The move by some northern governors was said to have caused Tinubu’s outburst at a meeting with Ogun State delegates on Thursday, where he insisted that the APC must give its ticket to a Yoruba man and that he must be the favoured candidate.