As a follow-up on their resolution to zone the All Progressives Congress Presidential ticket to the south, the Northern APC Governors have forwarded the names of five southern aspirants to President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration as a consensus candidate.
Aspirants from the South dominated the list obtained by The PUNCH on Tuesday.
Those shortlisted are the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu; Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; and Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State.
The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who confirmed the shortlist said those whose names were submitted had been graded by the party screening committee based on specified metrics.
Lalong, however, noted that the Northern Governors being only one section of the party, the shortlist will not bar other aspirants from contesting the primaries.
The governors had, on Monday, met with Buhari to officially inform him of their stance to zone the ticket to the south.
They met the president around the same time the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, announced that President Buhari had endorsed Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the consensus candidate.
The Presidency immediately denied the announcement, saying that Buhari, at the time, had not anointed any candidate.
