The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said the party will not offer President Muhammadu Buhari automatic ticket for the 2019 presidential race.
Rather, Tinubu said the party would follow the normal democratic process in choosing its standard bearer for the 2019 presidential election.
Tinubu said this on Wednesday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, after a meeting he had with the leadership of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, in the house of its leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
Speaking after the closed door meeting, Tinubu said the leadership of the APC had not endorsed Buhari as the party’s sole candidate for the forthcoming presidential election.
He was asked the question by reporters based on the position of the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, that 34 State Governors had endorsed Buhari for the 2019 presidential election and that it was a matter of time for the remaining two to so do.
Tinubu, who was at the meeting with the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said: “I have not heard about that and the APC spokesman has not said that.
“No governor can appropriate the power of endorsement to himself.
“President Buhari is a believer in process.
“The Buhari I know believes in the rule of law and due process.
“We wanted him even before the last convention and primaries of the party and Akeredolu is here standing with me, he was not the governor then.
“He was one of the leading delegates that voted properly and Buhari was a clear winner.
“We follow all the constitutional provisions and an individual opinion does not matter at this stage.
“Buhari will want a normal process.
“Buhari that I know.
“Who says he will lose at any convention?
“But if the national body, the National Executive Committee and all of us as members endorse him as our single candidate, we will not be violating INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) regulations, we will not be violating our party’s constitution.
“What you are hearing is just a campaign.
“Buhari has not excluded anybody and he has not stopped anybody from aspiring or contesting.”
On why he was in Ondo State, Tinubu said: “I am in Akure to acknowledge the leadership of Pa Fasoranti in our own race.
“He is a great leader of the Omoluwabi and in his twilight, we want him to be happy.
“He has been a great leader to all of us.
“His intellect is still very intact.
“We are here to seek his advice, seek his understanding and prayers.
“That is why I am here.”
Also speaking, Fasoranti said: “With the coming together of Yoruba leaders, there will be an understanding on major issues affecting the Yoruba race.
“We will consult and move ahead.
“As it is now, there will be a great understanding among the leaders as Tinubu is a leader in his own right.
“I think it (the visit) should lead to reconciliation, ARG (Afenifere Renewal Group) and the mainstream, as Tinubu has a leg there.
“They are his supporters.
“This signal shows we will come together.”
