North’ll support Fashola as APC Presidential candidate –Shehu Sani

The President of Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria and a senatorial aspirant of CPC, Kaduna Central Senatorial District , Mallam Shehu Sani has said that if the governor of Lagos state, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) emerges as the presidential candidate of the newly formed party , All Progressive Congress (APC), he would receive his backing.

Sani told Sunday Mirror that what mattered to him was that whoever emerges as the presidential flagbearer of the party should be the best candidate and if Fashola emerges as the best candidate backed by the entire party, there would be no opposition from the North.

“If the PDP is presenting a candidate and APC is presenting a candidate, Nigerians will definitely go for the best candidate; but whoever is going to represent the APC must have proved himself over the years.

He should be incorruptible, should have a vision for Nigeria and should be someone that is widely acceptable to all and should not be seen as representing any ethnic group or religious background and should be someone who places national interest above his personal ambition. So if Fashola is the popular choice of the party, we are certainly going to back him,” he maintained.

He added: “Well, as a potential member of the APC, if the party finally decides on that, I will support whoever emerges as the party’s choice. We need someone that is ideologically, fundamentally and characteristically different from what the PDP is presenting”.

Sani cautioned that Buhari and Tinubu should be ready to play key roles that would make the APC victory in the coming polls. “Well, what we should understand is that, this merger is not all about Buhari and Tinubu factor and if it is about Buhari and Tinubu, then, it is going to fail.

The merger should be seen to be a consensus of ideas, vision and hopes that can be found in one aim, which is to rescue Nigeria and bring Nigeria forward.

Buhari and Tinubu should be ready to play any role to which they need to play for the supporters of the party and Nigeria as a whole.”

Speaking on the development, the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Engineer Rotimi Fashakin said the Fashola option for the Presidency is largely speculative and lacks any basis, saying “ we have not got to that bridge at all. Where they are getting all these kinds of speculations is funny’.

“They are speculating to create a wedge against the coalition. We have not even informed INEC about the new party. I don’t know where they are getting such speculation from but they will not succeed in creating a wedge in the merger”, he said.

The Special Assistant on Media to Governor Fashola, Mr Hakeem Bello, said the issue of who should become a presidential candidate to the new APC is not a Lagos State Government matter and so, he could not comment on it.

“It is not a Lagos State Government matter but I know it is speculation. The party is just evolving. It is about politics and so I am not in a position to comment on politics”, Bello said.

Meanwhile,Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State has said that the recent merger in which the APC was born is the best option to wrest power from the opposition PDP, which has been in power for 14 years but “leaves the country to decay and anarchy.”

Gaidam stated this yesterday in Damaturu, the state capital, at a meeting with ANPP stakeholders and supporters to endorse the decision of the merger by governors of the 10 states controlled by the opposition parties after their meetings in Lagos, and later on Monday last week in Abuja to re-affirm their support for the initiative.

Represented by his Deputy, Engineer Abubakar, Aliyu said, “the meeting is crucial, as it will offer all members of the ruling party and it is an avenue to discuss issues related to the merger, come together with full support and cooperation on how to move the new party APC to a greater height.

He said the merger is a welcome development in rescuing Nigeria from decay, and therefore, urged all All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) stakeholders and supporters to give their overwhelming cooperation in the ongoing merger for the wellbeing of the state and the country at large.

Also, the Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Imo State, Chief Charles Ubah, has commended the state governor, Rochas Okorocha, over his decision to join other progressives “in their quest to rescue the nation from the stranglehold of the ruling PDP.”

Ubah described the governor as a patriotic Nigerian who is committed to the success of Nigeria’s democracy and good governance, assuring the Governor and members of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), of the willingness of the party to work harmoniously with everyone under the new PDP.