Ahead of Monday presidential primaries, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential aspirants from the South-West region are expected to hold a final meeting this Saturday in Abuja.
The seven presidential aspirants from the region are Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; APC national leader, Bola Tinubu; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Ajayi Boroffice; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; and Lagos cleric, Pastor Tunde Bakare.
Also expected at the meeting are APC governors from South-West which include; Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun) and Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo).
Other stakeholders expected to attend the meeting scheduled to hold by 8 p.m tonight at the Abuja home of Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, are some South-West extraction federal ministers.
Reliable sources told THE PUNCH that the discussion would border on South-West unity and reach a possible consenPUNC
One of the aspirants, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that, “We will all be meeting at Chief Osoba’s home by 8pm in Abuja. Everyone is expected to be present. We will all sit together and discuss the need to ensure that the South-West gets the ticket.
“However, all of us will be asked to be truthful with one another and see who among us has the best chance of winning the primary. Then if anyone is willing to step down to boost the chances of the South-West, then this will be encouraged.”
It was gathered on Friday that intense lobbying by some northern governors to ensure that the APC gives its presidential ticket to a northerner had unsettled the South-West bloc of the party.
This was said to have caused Tinubu’s outburst at a meeting with Ogun State delegates on Thursday, where he insisted that the APC must give its ticket to a Yoruba man and that he must be the favoured candidate.
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