The governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North have rejected Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the party's consensus presidential candidate.

Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the party's National Chairman, is alleged to have announced Lawan as the consensus candidate, a decision with which members of the National Working Committee are said to disagree.

The Northern governors urged a power transfer to the southern section of the country in 2023 during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Chairman of the Northern States Governors' Forum, told State House reporters after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He claimed that the 13 of them apologized to the president for getting information regarding their positions after it had been disclosed.

The governor, on the other hand, stated that the decision was made in the interest of the country's justice and peace.

Lalong, who claimed that they would meet again before 5 p.m. today, added that the president agreed with their viewpoint and that the presidential candidate must be chosen through a transparent procedure.

According to him, President Buhari told them he didn't have an anointed candidate for the time being and asked them to meet with the party's National Working Committee (NWC) to agree on a succession plan.

In reference to the absence of the Governor of Kogi State at the meeting where the power shift decision was taken, he said his colleague was not part of the agreement as his signature was not on the statement.

In his contribution, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State said it was the democratic right of the Kogi governor to excuse himself.

Details later...