THE All Progressives Congress, APC, has agreed on a zoning formula that will swap offices held between North and South.
By the arrangement, all offices that were occupied by northerners in the last eight years, will go to the south and vice versa.
This is just as President Muhammadu Buhari directed the party leadership to explore the option of consensus among other options in the choice of its national chairman in line with the party’s tradition.
These, among others, were the outcome of the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and 19 governors elected on the platform of the APC at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was also attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
Speaking while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, said contrary to reports in the media of division among the APC governors, agreement had been reached on zoning formula.
He said: “We have agreed a zoning formula for all the six geo-political zones.
“Essentially, northern zone will have the positions the south have had in the last eight years. And vice versa.
“It is a very simple, equitable and fair formula.
“We will now go back and consult at the zonal level and look at the positions that are available and the process of the convention preparation we started in earnest.
“So, by the grace of God, on the 26th of March, we would have done our national convention.”
The Kaduna State governor also said, “We are committed to ensure that the Peoples Destruction Party doesn’t come back to power.”
Eighteen of the governors that were in attendance at the meeting are those of Yobe, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Cross River, Kaduna, Lagos, Borno, Niger, Gombe, Osun, Kebbi, Anambra dep, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kano, Imo, Kogi, Ogun, and Plateau states.
The outgoing deputy governor of Anambra state was also in attendance.
It was the governors of Ondo, Katsina and Zamfara that were not present during the briefing.
