A coalition of chieftains of the All Progressives Congress in the South-West has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the party produces former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, as the candidate to face former Vice President Atiku Abubarkar in the 2023 presidential election.
According to them, Tinubu remains the only party aspirant who has the weight to defeat Atiku in the coming contest.
The group also advised Buhari not to breach the trust and agreement he reached with the leaders of the party in the region before his election in 2015.
In a statement by its National Convener, Mr Fatai Bola Adekunle, the group said Buhari was morally bound to support and ensure that a party member from the South-West region succeeds him in the office next year.
Adekunle maintained that anything short of the aforementioned demand would amount to betrayal from President Buhari and his supporters to the people of the South-West who he said, helped him (Buhari) greatly to get into office in 2015.
“We are appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to reciprocate the gesture of the people of the South West to him in 2015 by making sure that one of our sons emerges to succeed him in 2023 as a token of appreciation for the gesture of our people towards him.
“All of us were living witnesses to the roles played by our sons and daughters to ensure the emergence of Buhari as the president of the country. It is no gainsaying the fact that without that alliance between the South West and the North, the Buhari presidency that we have today would not have been possible”, they said.
They also warned the party leaders not to yield to the call to produce former President Goodluck Jonathan as the APC’s presidential candidate.