Adamu Speaks On Those Responsible For Scheme To Make Lawan APC Presidential Candidate

Adamu Speaks On Those Responsible For Scheme To Make Lawan APC Presidential Candidate

Abdullahi Adamu, the former National Chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), emphasized that the attempted endorsement of Ahmad Lawan as the party’s favored candidate was not a unilateral action. Mr. Adamu made this assertion in an interview published by Daily Trust on Sunday.

AMr. Adamu informed a gathering of the National Working Committee (NWC) in June 2022, ahead of the presidential primary, that then-President Muhammadu Buhari had selected Mr. Lawan as his preferred candidate.

However, this move was met with opposition from APC governors, who supported a shift of power to the South. Consequently, Mr. Lawan ultimately came in fourth in the primary election.

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Mr. Adamu, who resigned from his position as chairman of the ruling party in July, clarified that although he, as a northerner, favored a northern candidate, the decision regarding the former Senate president was not his sole prerogative.

“The party chairman has a role, but with a ruling party, I could not take it on myself to float Ahmed Lawan’s name.

“I am curious because everybody put it on you. Well, of course, I take responsibility as party chairman, but nobody with maturity in politics and governance will say that Abdullahi Adamu, as the chairman of the party, would just get up and say this is my presidential candidate. It doesn’t add up.

“From my consultations, and from the advice I was getting, I am a northerner and I would go for a northerner; and no apologies for that. I have never hidden this,” he said.

Mr Adamu refused to name others who supported his decision to name Mr Lawan but said that he was concerned about winning the presidential election.

“To be honest with you, that was my inclination. I wanted to win the election. I never lost an election and I saw what was going on in the country. But of course, party leadership is a collective responsibility,” he said.

Mr Adamu also spoke about his emergence as the national chairman of the party against the wish of the APC governors. He said the APC governors did not include his name in the 10-man list submitted to the president.

“The governors had their agenda and they didn’t see me playing to it. They wanted the presidency to go down South. And if they won’t get the presidency, at least one of them would get the vice president. That was the calculation.

“Anyway, they jotted about 10 names but didn’t send it. They came to the meeting with it. When they presented the list, Buhari asked for my name, saying I was always making contributions in the Senate. He picked a pen from his chest pocket and wrote Senator Abdullahi Adamu on top of their list. That was supposed to be an indication of his interest.

“But the governors continued with all manner of criticism, including that I was too old for the chairmanship,” he said.