The All Progressives Congress ,APC governors have debunked insinuations that they have adopted a candidate for the 2015 presidential race.Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state who is the chairman of APC Governors’ Forum said ““Our forum has not adopted any candidate, neither has our Governors’ Forum adopted any candidate, but we shall encourage consensus and dialogue within the leadership of the party and aspirants to see how we come up with a candidate but where that is not possible, like true progressives, we shall have free and fair primaries from the APC.”
The huge presence of APC governors at the Eagle Square last week during the former declaration for the presidential race by General Muhammadu Buhari gave vent to insinuations that governors may have adopted him.
Okorocha however said at Ilorin venue of APC governors’ meeting “On consensus, our forum is in full support of consensus as one of the ways to produce our presidential candidate or any candidate in the party for as long as it is done with regards to respect for internal democracy. There will be no imposition of candidate in our party”, the chairman of the forum Owelle Okorocha, said, reading the communiqué.
APC Governors at the meeting include Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo).
The governors also addressed the dwindling revenue from the federation account .Okorocha said “We looked at the dwindling resources of the state coming from FAAC on our monthly allocation, which has made it imperative that most states may not afford to pay salaries as a result of the dwindling resources.
He continued:“This has become a very serious concern to us as governors and we felt that issues that affect the lives of our people must never be politicised. We refuse to accept that this nation is broke. I thank God that the Federal Government is not broke, that if the nation is not broke, what is due to states as revenue should be paid to the states. This idea of cutting down what should go to states does not in any way promote democracy and democratic dividends and so we as progressive governors do call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of dwindling resources or convince us as to why the states should not get what is due to them.
“We do not know why our colleagues in the PDP are not talking of this matter. If they are not talking, it is either they are not affected or somehow they are getting something from the back door, which we do not know.
“But if that is not the reason, I think the Presidency or the Federal Government should act quickly on the present ugly situation which this terrible condition of dwindling revenue has caused us by making sure that the states get what is due to them at least to pay the basic salaries of the workers.
We also deliberated on the need to continue to pray for Nigeria for the successful 2015 election, which every Nigerian is looking forward to.”
Speaking on the 2015 general elections,Okorocha announced, “We must disappoint those who believe that Nigeria can never have free, fair and credible election by making sure that 2015 shall come to pass and Nigeria will raise its head high among the comity of nations and be one of the countries that have conducted free and fair elections.
“It is our firm belief that our party will provide for Nigeria the long-awaited purposeful, visionary leadership, come 2015. So we the APC governors are in full support of the activity of our party and assure Nigerians that we shall provide them a credible presidential candidate that will steer the affairs of this nation in 2015,” the APC governors said.
