President Muhammadu Buhari has promised not to disclose the identity of his preferred presidential candidate and likely successor.
Naija News recalls that the President stated this during an interview with Channels Television on January 5, 2022.
The Nigerian leader said the identity of his preferred successor is a secret which would not be revealed anytime soon due to personal reasons.
Buhari, who first said he did not have anybody in mind, said he is not willing to reveal the identity of the person because he may be assassinated before the 2023 general elections.
“I don’t have any favourite for 2023 and if I do, I won’t reveal his identity because if I do, he may be eliminated before the election. I better keep it secret,” he said with a smile.
When asked if he was interested in who eventually succeeds him in 2023, he said, “No. Let him come, whoever it is.
“All important things, I’ll make sure that they are on record. Nobody should ask me to come and give any evidence in any court, otherwise, whoever it is, he will be in trouble because all important things are on record.
“I think my legacy is that I try to make sure that we conduct ourselves with integrity. That means we stopped all the stealing as much as the system can allow; we stopped misappropriation and for Nigerians that is very important.”
Meanwhile, President Buhari had appealed to the APC governors to allow him to pick his preferred successor ahead of the party’s presidential primaries on June 6.
Buhari made the appeal during a meeting with the governors and the National Chairman of the party at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.
President Buhari during the meeting also called on APC governors to make decisions that would enable the party to remain in power.
He assured the governors that the consultation process will continue to ensure that all aspirants and stakeholders would be brought on board right through to the convention.
The President also stressed that the consultations would also ensure that any anxiety occasioned by different factors is effectively brought under control and that the party emerges stronger.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News