APC consults Obasanjo on choice of 2015 Presidential candidate

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Senate President, David Mark, and former governor of Lagos State and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress , Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as well as former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasid Ladoja yesterday, held separate closed-door meetings with former President Olusegun Obasanjo .

The Senate President who is a member of the People’s Democratic Party was reported to have visited the former president to persuade him on the need to work for the party and not against the party.

The separate meetings which were held at the former President’s hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital may not be unconnected with 2015 elections.

The first meeting which was held between Tinubu and Obasanjo with the presence of Ladoja and former governor of Ekiti state who is also Chairman, South West of the APC lasted for almost two hours.

The closed-door meeting between Obasanjo and Mark commenced immediately after he arrived Obasanjo’s hilltop around 2:pm shortly after Tinubu and others were leaving the premises and went straight into another private room of Obasanjo where he held his meeting and finished at 3:45pm.

The Senate President while addressing newsmen after the meeting described Obasanjo as father of the nation.

When asked why he was in Obasanjo’s house, Mark who was accompanied by governor of Delta state Emmanuel Uduaghan, wife of the Chairman Board of Trustee of the PDP, Josephine Anenih and Senator Polikap Nwite said “we have come to discuss with him and raise some basic issues that affect both the party and the nation at large.

When asked to disclose the content of the meeting, the Senate president said “they are discussions that would move this nation forward.

” You know his passion for this nation is unquantifiable, so, we really have a good
discussion with him.

“We are working as a party to make sure we put everybody who want to be on board on board and congresses are coming up so I think this is normal”, he said .

However, Tinubu, while addressing newsmen shortly after the closed-door meeting, disclosed that he was at Obasanjo’s residence to ‘pay a homage to the former president’.

He however, said that, the APC was consulting Obasanjo on the choice of Presidential candidate for the party, saying, the party needs to know his opinion on some aspirants especially his ‘boys’.

According to Tinubu, we are here to pay homage to our former President and have a number of discussions with him because he has a number of influences in the political spheres.

“As a good merger, we need to talk, because, this merger will serve various branches. It is a very big tree, so, we need to talk, find out his thinking about Nigeria and the future.

“We need to seek his observation as some of his former boys who are running for presidency, what he can say of them”, Tinubu said.