National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu has said that the party would decide on its zoning after screening its 2023 presidential aspirants.
In an interview on Wednesday night, Adamu said that the presidential aspirants would be screen in accordance with the party’s guidelines for the 2023 general elections, stressing that no decision will be taken before the screening exercise.
“We have not produced our candidate for the presidency yet, we have to screen the aspirants to know the way forward.
“We have aspirants from across the country in the presidential race. We will take the decision when we get there,” the APC national chairman said while speaking to selected hausa media organizations.
He said all party members aspiring for various offices were given a fair play ground.
“You can’t stop our party stalwarts from contesting elections or aspiring for the presidency. It is their right, and we are happy for them.
“There is nothing wrong for anybody aspiring for the exalted seat of the president, it is God that decides who gets what.
“We have 28 aspirants for the presidential ticket, and everybody knows that all of them cannot get the ticket. If it’s God’s wish, they all can even be president of the country one after the other.
“Our goal is to ensure justice in the choice of who emerges as the candidate of the party, that does not mean we are perfect, but we pray we do the right thing,” he said.
On the method of coming up with a presidential candidate, Adamu said the party had laid down its rules and regulations for the aspirants, as they will be scrutinized base on the party’s guidelines to be sure a right candidate is picked for the party.
Reacting to rumors that some party members were planning to extend the tenure of the president, he said, “I can only say that God will deal with those behind such insinuations. President Buhari had since 2019 declared that he would not seek a tenure extension.
“He told everybody and swore with the Qur’an that he would not breach constitutional provision on his two terms tenure.
“The issue does not even arise, the president, while performing the Lesser Hajj reiterated this position.
“If there is truth in such talks, none of the aspirants would have procured the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination forms,” he said.
