National Vice Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has advised those scheming to present former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, as consensus presidential candidate to perish the thought.
Lukman made the declaration at the weekend while speaking with newsmen in Abuja.
Jonathan was declared eligible to contest for the next general elections by a pronouncement of a Federal High Court on Friday.
While top officers of the APC avoid clarification on his membership status, speculation is rife that he would be presented as the consensus candidate at the rescheduled convention.
The national vice Chairman North West however maintained that it would be impossible to concede the APC presidential ticket to Dr Jonathan.
He said: “There are clear guidelines in terms of how individual members of the party qualified to emerge as the candidate of the party. One, through the sale of nomination forms. Assume Jonathan claimed to be a member of the party, he has not bought the forms to the best of our knowledge. How do you come from the back door?
“Secondly, as far as our memory can recall, the party became popular on the basis of the campaign against the bad governance of Jonathan and nothing has changed that we can now say has qualified him to emerge as the arrowhead of our campaign in 2023.
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“As far as I am concerned, these two reasons disqualified Jonathan from even aspiring to become the candidate of the party. I don’t know where he is coming from. Unfortunately, in this country, where there is the mentality that everything is possible, but it must be clearly stated that far as the leadership of the party is concerned, the person of Jonathan can’t be under consideration.”
Lukman also faulted the stance of Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Mohammed Argungu, National Chairman and National Organising Secretary, respectively, who at separate sessions with newsmen said President Jonathan and 27 others who bought nomination forms would be screened.
“I am waiting for anybody to present evidence that a form has been submitted for Jonathan before the deadline for submission. I am waiting to see such evidence. You know, such a form will contain all details including the membership details of Jonathan. That I have not seen. Maybe somebody is hiding his form somewhere else. I am not aware Jonathan bought the nomination form.”
“As far the leadership of APC is concerned and I am a member of that leadership, that (imposition) is not going to be possible. As far as the majority, indeed all of us (NWC) are concerned, everybody that bought the nomination form will be given a level playing field, so that such person is qualified to be a member of APC and is qualified to aspire for such an important position.
“The campaign leading to the emergence of the candidate and the eventual trend of delegates to the convention will be driven based on the aspiration of bringing out somebody that is acceptable to Nigerians on the bases of which the party can win. It is not on the bases of individual scheming.”
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