Former President Goodluck Jonathan formally met, on Monday night, with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, preparatory to his possible formal announcement of his membership of the governing party and interest in seeking its presidential ticket.
This, of course, as learnt would be consequent on a concrete agreement that guarantees the APC ‘s presidential ticket for him. Otherwise, according to feelers, he may not cave in to pressure to have him run for the APC presidential ticket.
Jonathan’s meeting with Adamu came after media reports of the purchase of APC’s expression of interest and presidential nomination forms for him by a group of Fulani pastoralists.
The closed-door meeting in Adamu’s house within the vicinity of the Presidential Villa, as learnt, was to seek further clarifications from the APC national chairman on a number of issues around his membership, the quest for the presidential ticket and provision for waivers in the party’s constitution to clear all encumbrances to his presidential aspiration.
The clarifications and assurances of waivers were expected to inform Jonathan’s final decision either to join the APC and run for its presidential ticket or not.
The meeting, according to feelers, took place between 9pm and 10 pm.
Jonathan’s meeting with Adamu had clarified initial reports credited to his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze in which he said that those who bought the form for his boss acted on their own and that the action was belittling and unacceptable to the former president.
He had also said that former President Jonathan was not consulted by the people who bought the forms.
Read the statement issued by Ikechukwu Eze: “It has come to the notice of His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that a group has purportedly purchased Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms, of the All Progressives Congress (the APC), in his name.
We wish to categorically state that Dr. Jonathan was not aware of this bid and did not authorize it.
“While we appreciate the overwhelming request by a cross-section of Nigerians, for Dr. Jonathan to make himself available for the 2023 Presidential election, we wish to state, that he has not in anyway, committed himself to this request.
“We thank the general public for their concern, as we continue to encourage citizen participation in the affairs of the country.”
However, it looked apparent on Monday night that Jonathan might be digging in for the APC ticket to contest in the 2023 presidential election.
THE CONCLAVE reports that it remained, as of press time, unclear how the former president intended to seamlessly clinch the ticket in a party where he is new and has no structure and delegates to deploy in the pursuit and realisation of his presidential enterprise.
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