‘Only transparent primaries can unite APC’

The Kano State Governor and presidential aspirant of
the All Progressives Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on
Tuesday said only a transparent party primaries could
guarantee adherence to agreements reached between the
aspirants and the party.
Kwankwaso said this while fielding questions from
journalists after his screening by the Dr. Ogbonnaya
Onu-led presidential screening committee of the APC.
The aspirant spoke against the background of a commitment
the party had extracted from all aspirants that they would
abide by the outcome of the primaries and support
whosoever emerged the party’s flag bearer.
He explained that he and his colleagues were prepared to
abide by the commitment they made with the party, as long
as the primary was not only transparent but also seen to be
so.
The aspirant said, “Agreement or no agreement, once
there is a transparent primary not only me but the other
aspirants will support whoever emerges.
“When we were in the PDP in 1999, we had a
transparent primary. I have gone round the country and I
have interacted with the people both within the PDP and
the APC, I can assure you that there are people within
the PDP that have endorsed my aspiration and are
willing to vote for me if I emerged.
He also claimed that 50 per cent of members of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party would vote for him if he
emerged as the candidate.
Kwankwaso further explained that the party would be
better served with him as candidate because of the support
he enjoyed across party lines.
Ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who took his turn
before the screening committee after Kwankwaso,
expressed optimism about his chances.
Atiku described himself as the most prepared among the
party’s aspirants not only for the party primaries, but also
for the presidential race.
He said he had been on the campaign train for about two
months and had visited all but two out of the 36 states of
the federation.