As political parties intensify preparations for next year’s elections, stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State have adopted President Bola Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate and Governor Abba Yusuf as its governorship candidate.
This came as a Presidential Supervision Team met with APC governors on Thursday night in a move aimed at reducing crises ahead of the 11th National Assembly in the Fourth Republic.
The team also met separately with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and some principal officers over the push by senators and representatives to secure return tickets in 2027.
The two meetings were held at the Presidential Villa and the Imo State Governor’s Lodge.
Sources who spoke with The Nation said the discussions focused on demands by National Assembly members for return tickets and support for some federal lawmakers seeking governorship seats.
However, the governors were said to have rejected some proposed returning senators and representatives.
A harmonised continuity list is expected to be forwarded to Tinubu to guide the APC’s consensus arrangement.
It was learnt that Governors Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State were absent from the meeting.
They reportedly opted for a separate audience with the President in Paris, France, because of disagreement with the proposal.
‘APC Wants Less Tension In States’
A source at the meeting said the engagement was designed to reduce friction between National Assembly members and sitting governors.
According to the source, the Presidential Supervision Team is seeking to persuade governors, who have been mandated by Tinubu to take charge of the nomination process in their states, to accommodate defectors from other parties to the APC.
The source said the team believed that the next National Assembly should contain a blend of experienced lawmakers and new members.
The source said, “The NASS leadership does not want a repeat of what happened in the 10th Assembly, where most members came in newly. The turnover of lawmakers does not enrich the Nigerian legislature.
“Some respected Senators and Representatives also defected from some parties to the APC. They have high electoral value, which cannot be ignored. We opted to prevail on some governors to shift ground by yielding some slots.
“Right from the Second Republic, there had been frictions and sheer power play between NASS members and governors, either on succession or the leadership of the parties or facilitation of projects.
“We want to address 2027 with less tension in states so that the APC can be united against other parties.”
On senators seeking governorship seats and outgoing governors interested in moving to the Senate, another source said the meeting tried to manage the delicate situation.
The source said, “There are still a few states where the President may have to mediate or intervene to keep the APC one. In case of no reconciliation, there will be outright primaries.”
