Now, all the attention of every Nigerian is focused on the convention of the governing All Progressives Congress, slated for today to see who will fly its flag. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, last week conducted its convention in which former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar emerged the winner having scored 371 votes to defeat his closest rival, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, who got 231 votes.
It is on record that the APC has postponed its convention twice but later agreed to conduct it on June 6, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had graciously extended the period by one week. The screening committee led by former governor of Edo state, John-Odigie Oyegun, had screened 23 aspirants and disqualified 13 of them, according to the report it submitted to the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu.
However, before the screening began, President Muhammadu Buhari held a brief meeting with APC governors and solicited their reciprocity for his anointed candidate. Though, the president did not mention the name of his preferred candidate, the emergence of Atiku Abubakar from the North sent jitters into the nerves of the ruling party. Weekly Trust had revealed that the Villa cabal has sold the candidature of Senate President Ahmed Lawal to Buhari.
The decision by the northern cabal to push for a northern presidency is borne out of the desire to checkmate PDP, which jettisoned zoning and threw its contest open. But, for APC, power should move to the South-west, after President Buhari will have finished his constitutional two terms of eight years in office.
No wonder, some northern governors refused to support a northern presidency. Instead, they canvassed for or rooted for a southern candidate. As the struggle for who will clinch the APC’s presidential ticket intensifies, the APC governors are ready to settle for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
There is no doubt that Osibanjo has the pedigree, intellect and capacity to succeed Buhari. While declaring his intention, Osinbajo promised to continue with the Buhari policies and programmes. The vice-president who is part and parcel of the government will never falter in doing so, if opportune to become the president.
The Osinbajo presidency will meet stiff opposition from some northern elites. If we can recall, during Buhari’s medical vacation, Osibanjo who was acting president, wielded the big stick on some northern political officers. The Director, State Security Service (DSS), Lawal Daura, was sacked by Osinbajo. The cabal still nurses the fear that if he becomes the president, nobody will control him.
Osinbajo, who is a professor of law and senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has the ability to exert influence and step on powerful toes. Besides, Osinbajo is being accused of dispensing political favours to only members of his church, the Redeemed Christian Church of Nigeria, RCCN. Although, he has denied the allegations, he needs to do more to clear himself and convince Nigerians.
The life-long ambition of APC national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is facing a survival threat. Tinubu was the first candidate who met Buhari and informed him of his ambition. However, with the sudden change of events, indications are that Tinubu is no longer the preferred candidate of APC or the Villa cabal.
In my article entitled” the huddles before Tinubu” published by many national dailies including the Blueprint, I opined that Tinubu’s challenges are many and coud be seen thus: old age, ill health, the running mate conundrum, and above all strong and formidable candidate from the opposition parties.
Unknown to me, the huddles are beyond the foregoing. The Villa cabal is hell-bent to scheme him out from the race. The body language of President Buhari suggests that the presidential candidate of APC will emerge through consensus. Having realised or uncovered the grand plan to rock his presidential boat, Tinubu, who was in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, to meet some delegates, let the cat out of the bag.
Tinubu, who spoke in the Yoruba language, narrated how he helped Buhari, Osinbajo and Governor Dapo Abiodun to ascend to power. He bragged that come 2023, the power should not only return to South-west but also to him.
The million naira questions begging for answers are: What will be the fate of Tinubu if he fails to fly his party’s flag? Assuming APC sticks to a northern candidate for fear of losing the 2023 election or opts for one of his loyalists, will Tinubu agree to rally support and work for his success? It is true, Tinubu has paid the supreme price of having defeated the PDP and installed the Buhari government in 2015.
His sacrifices for the successful merging of the legacy parties which led to the formation of APC and the elections victory cannot be dismissed with a wave of hand. With Tinubu’s last dance, APC should expect two things from him. First, he may ditch the APC and pursue his ambition in another party. Second, he may remain in the party and work against its success.
Ibrahim Mustapha,
Pambegua, Kaduna state
08169056963.
