TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says President Muhammadu Buhari has not announced publicly that Adams Oshiomhole is his preferred candidate to lead the party after John Oyegun, the current chairman.

There are reports that Buhari has endorsed Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo state, as the next chairman of the APC.

But addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Bolaji Abdullahi, APC spokesman, said Buhari reserved the right to his preferences.

He said: “The president is a party member and has the right to have his preferences and I don’t get the feeling that he told anyone this is the person you must support.

“He met with some of the governors who went to ask him and they were actually four. I don’t think that the governors that met him on Wednesday said he told them so.

“So, maybe they probably asked him and because of the relationship he has with them, he told them what his preferences are and they felt that it was important for them to make this available to the public. I don’t get the feeling that President Buhari called the governors and told them that this is the way you must go.

“The opportunity he gave the party has made us better because that is how we arrived at the position we are discussing now. The consultation he had with these governors was a private conversation. He did not address a press conference to say this is the person I want.

“So, if those individuals he confided in felt it was necessary for them to make the position public, I don’t think it is fair for us to hold the president responsible for this. I don’t think he has foreclosed anything or that he has said this is the way everyone must go.”