The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed the ruling party was yet to determine which geopolitical zone will produce President in the 2023 elections.
National chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Friday after presenting the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the Ekiti State election to President Muhammadu Buhari.
He was accompanied by the national secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu.
“I am today privileged to be the chairman of the party. The party is greater than me. The party has not made a decision (on zoning) and I cannot preempt what the position will be,” Adamu said.
Also, speaking on the uproar that greeted the cost of obtaining APC Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, Adamu said the party has no regret for pegging its presidential nomination forms at N100million.
According to the chairman, they did their homework before arriving at the price.
He said, “on the issue of cost. Yeah, I’ve been listening, with rapt attention, to the hues and cries from our lovers and our adversaries. We have no regrets whatsoever.
“We did some homework, we know what it takes to go through primaries, go through the presidential campaign, go through election for the President. We know what it takes.
“We also do know that there are citizens who are qualified to contest, but who are not serious contenders, who will just want to make anything cheaply by the roadside, and assert what they call their rights and create problems for our party.
“We’re also aware that some parties that have no chance whatsoever to win the presidential election in Nigeria, will sponsor people into parties that have prospects for winning the election, to create problems for us, to divert our attention.
“Over and above that, yes, we are the ruling party. Yes, we need to set examples in what we do, but I ask you, I don’t know which part of the country you come from, If God forbid, your traditional ruler dies today, contestants to that office will go for more than N100million, it’s no news.
“When I contested for the Senate, all I paid was just a token N5million, N10million, including the expression. When my colleague wanted to be chairman of the party, in the days of Adams Oshiomhole, it cost him N500,000. Today, for me, just as an example, to contest the national chairman of our party, I had to pay N20million to contest.
“Alright, and even the enormity of work that has to be done, and this work will be done with the money. We don’t want to continue going begging.
“So, I want to say that we’re able to mobilise sufficient funds to support our efforts to win the election. Some protests may be well-founded, I do not quarrel with that.
“I will not quarrel with that, every one of us has the right to express himself, and I’m in full support of these obligations, but we wear the shoes for our party and we know where it pinches us the most,” Senator Adamu stated.
