After President Muhammadu Buhari's term ends in 2023, some northern governors on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform have agreed that power should return to the south.
The governors, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday at Aso Rock, rejected the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as the ruling party's consensus presidential candidate.
They also asked their northern counterparts contesting in the APC presidential primary to put their ambitions aside and support the southern candidate.
Abubakar Badaru, the governor of Jigawa State, has previously announced his withdrawal from the contest following talks with other governors.
The northern governors' decision, however, was rejected by Yahaya Bello, who is also running for president.
Bello, Nigeria's youngest governor, walked out of his colleagues after being urged to withdraw from the contest, according to a video circulating on social media.