The National Chairman of the All progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has explained why he announced the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as the consensus presidential candidate of the party in the build up to the primaries.
He stated that the shocks that emanated after the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) informed his choice.
Adamu said he made the announcement after due consultation with relevant stakeholders so that the APC would neutralise the PDP presidential candidate with a northern candidate.
Adamu, who spoke in an interview on Trust TV programme, said he had eaten a humble pie when some governors opposed his position and President Muhammadu Buhari directed that convention be held.
“It is true after due consultation, the best I could as the chairman of the party, the appropriate thing was what I did. We had reason to believe that that was the best at the time. And that what motivated partially was the decision of the PDP to field a former VP Atiku.
“There have been upbeat that the president should go to the South in PDP. And it is predominantly more entrenched in the South-East and to some extent South-South.
“When they had their convention to everybody’s surprise, they chose to have a northerner in the person of Atiku Abubakar. That shocked waves.
“These guys were being upbeat on president going to south where their base is. What do we tell our voters? We had to have a rethink immediately to respond to that.
“And after due consultations, we thought that was the way to go and it is the place of the party not any other person because the flag bearer is the party’s flag bearer. So it was for me to make that public and I did.
“I didn’t talk to National Assembly, I talked to members of my national working committee, they are my first base and the same day some governors came and say no, no they want it to go to the south,” he said.
According to him, he abandoned his position despite making it public in the interest of the party to avoid what he called “catastrophe and cataclysm” in the party which he said “we could easily end up with some implosion.”
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“I don’t want that to happen. We went through the convention. And the President said he had no preferred candidate that all should go to convention,” he added.
The former Nasarawa State Governor said he has since paid allegiance to the winner of the APC presidential primaries.
“Our candidate Bola Tinubu won clean primaries, he won. Immediately he became successful, I and the president handed him over the flag.
“The following morning I went to his house with all my members of working committee to pledge to him our support and I assured him that each one of us is with him.
“It was not my decision alone (announcing Lawan as consensus candidate). It was after due consultation but the position of the governors came probably and affected everything.
“I have done my best as leader as chairman of the party and at the end the party decided this is the way and I pledged my support along that line.
“It has become history as far as I am concerned and I don’t want to go beating about the bush on the issue. Bola Tinubu is our presidential candidate. He has brought his running mate. We are all supporting what the party has done and we unveiled him,” he stated.
He said that the party is working to reconcile with its reconcilable aggrieved members because
“You can only reconcile the reconcilable. It’s nothing new even brothers differ on political. I take blame after primaries as the leader of the party.”
He described dumping the APC by Buhari’s cousin and member representing Daura, Maiadua and Sandamu Federal constituency as “seasonal happenings in time like this”, adding that “brothers from the same parent join different parties.”
He said the party recognised Lawan as the APC candidate in the Yobe North but cannot comment further because the case is before a court.
Adamu contended that although people are making the case of rerun due to the challenges pose by the Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples party, his party is working to win the election, rerun “isn’t my thinking”.
The APC chairman further justified taking loans by the government to invest in infrastructure.
He described threat to impeach Buhari as empty from aspirants that lost in the APC primaries alongside opposition senators.
“It is one thing to say something, it is another to do it. It was part of the heat to those who did not get what they wanted and capitalise on pressure from the opposition.
”It was an opposition drive and those who couldn’t get what they want. It is a spirit of rebellion.”
Adamu averred that “I am more offended with what some ministers do to create problem to the government than what the members of national assembly do because they are elected and they have a mandate.”
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