The ruling All Progressives Congress has said it will abide by its constitution to resolve the controversy over whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari will be given an automatic ticket to contest the 2019 presidential election.
Muhammadu Buhari during the Campaign prior to the 2015 Presidential election
While speaking with reporters in Abuja after the meeting of APC’s National Working Committee, with state governors and National Assembly members, on Wednesday at the party’s National Secretariat Abuja, Governer Mohammed Abubakar, revealed how the party will decide on President Buhari’s ticket ahead of 2019.
According to Premium Times, the governor of Bauchi state, said the All Progressive Congress (APC), will be guided by its constitution to resolve whether President Muhammad Buhari will be given an automatic ticket or not for the 2019 presidential election.
Even though there have been speculations as to whether the president would run or not in 2019 in recent weeks, Abubakar, who was in the company of Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary and an APC lawmaker, Ahmed Lawan, said the party had not deliberated on the modalities for the 2019 tussle.
He said; “This meeting has not deliberated on that but the APC has a constitution and that is one of the items that was discussed – the amendment to the constitution of the APC in order to faithfully hold the convention in line with democratic principles, and we will abide by the provisions of our constitution.
”Article 20 (iii) of the APC Constitution 2014 says “nomination of candidates for (f) President shall be through direct or indirect primary election to be conducted at the appropriate level,” he said.
He dismissed reports that the president indicted governors for failing to meet up with their financial obligations to civil servants and pensioners, despite the billions they received from the federal government, and also claimed he does not owe any of his state workers salaries or pensions.
“The President is concerned about the plight of the downtrodden and when you sit with him, he always talks about that. He did not direct any accusation at the governors, because the governors have actually utilised the Federal Government’s intervention for the payment of the salary.
“In Bauchi, I do not owe a dime in salary and pension. We are not begging for support but asking that what is due to us should be paid to us.”