The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress took another dimension on Monday when members of the National Working Committee rejected the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as its consensus candidate.
The rebuttal is hours after the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, announced Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
Adamu had dropped the bombshell during the meeting of the NWC on Monday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
According to him, the choice of Lawan was decided after due consultation with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
His pronouncement did not, however, go down well with the NWC members as some kicked against the decision, demanding that the party give every aspirant level playing field.
Addressing newsmen in front of the party secretariat in Abuja, the National Organising Secretary of the APC, Suleman Argungu, disclosed that the choice of Lawan was not the decision taken by the party as alleged.
“We want to state that the pronouncement of Lawan as the consensus candidate was the chairman’s opinion and he is entitled to his opinion.
It is not the position of the party,” he said.
The media briefing also had other members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress in attendance.
They include National Vice Chairman (North-West), Mallam Salihu Lukman, his South West counterpart, Isaac Kekemeke and five other members of the NWC.
The claim and counter-claim is coming on the first day of APC convention, which kicked off today at the Eagle Square in Abuja.