After days, weeks and months of high-level politicking characterised by horse trading, intrigues and smart political moves, delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Tuesday night commenced voting to elect its presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The exercise which ran through the night and continued Wednesday morning followed the clearance of 23 aspirants to contest for the party’s presidential ticket.
As at the time of this report Wednesday morning(6.30am to be precise), about 10 states, including Benue, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, Enugu, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo and Osun had cast their votes out of the 36 states and the FCT Abuja.
Blueprint’s checks further revealed that former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was likely to put up a strong show and possibly emerge the party’s candidate, considering the number of aspirants who stepped down for him before the commencement of voting exercise by the delegates.
But some analysts believed that some of the aspirants who opted out to back Tinubu did not have the delegates to really make any difference, thus making the contest still open between the former Lagos state governor and his closest rival, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The pre-convention controversies
The convention was trailed by controversies over the selection of a consensus candidate.
While northern governors in the party rooted for a southern candidate, the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, announced Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
Those who stepped down and likely implication
Signs that Tinubu would pick the party’s ticket emerged at the commencement of the exercise when in quick succession some presidential aspirants mounted the podium to address the delegates before casting their votes.
And while this segment of the exercise lasted, some aspirants including former Akwa Ibom state governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, former Ogun state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Jigawa state Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, former Speaker House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole and the only female aspirant in the race, Mrs Uju Ohanenye, announced their decsions to step down for Tinubu.
The implication therefore is that, everything being equal, the votes of the delegates controlled by the aspirants who stepped down would be turned in for the party’s national leader.
Further to this, the chanting of Jagaba, another title conferred on Tinuu by the Borgu Kingdom, filled the air, thus putting the camps of Osinbajo and other aspirants on edge.
While the duo of Pastor Tunde Bakare and Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello chose not to step down for anybody, 40-year-old Felix Nicholas was the only aspirant to step down for Vice President Osinbajo who was the last person to mount the podium and address the delegates.
Tinubu speaks
Addressing the delegates before the commencement of voting at about 1.40am, Tinubu who was the first to take the centre stage said he is “a serious man with a serious purpose.”
To the delegates, he said: “The candidate you select must have the experience, leadership and qualities. Other aspirants are good men and women but I sincerely believe I am the person that fits that.”
The former governor, who boasted to have transformed Lagos state from a dangerous and unwelcoming place to a clean and safe place, said he is a “serious man with a serious purpose. And will use it to benefit the people.”
Describing himself as a unifying leader, whose structures have delivered victory over the years, the former lawmaker said: “I cannot talk of a brighter future without declaring my intention to fight terrorism and insecurity. I am confident, competent and ready to start from day one.”
“Here comes a time in a nation when the hopes of the moment. Let not the destiny of this land be stolen because we did not do what was meant for us to do at this critical moment. Remember, we formed this party not simply to wrest power from a wrong and failing PDP.
“We formed this party to give the people of this land the progressive good governance they deserve so that they may live well and as peacefully as any people on the face of this earth. This corrective journey began with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. At this convention, we must take the next step toward the proper and necessary direction.
“In 2015, the All Progressives Congress won the election to halt the drift in our nation’s governance, redirect our path, and make clear our national priorities. We dedicated this party to the guiding principle that government must be for the benefit of each and every Nigerian before it is for the benefit of any single one of us. No one is above legal rule or regulation. Likewise, no one is too low for justice and compassionate governance cover or protection.
“Within this context, the APC under President Muhammadu Buhari has governed with patriotic and disciplined commitment this past seven years. The Buhari government has championed needed reforms, ranging from an innovative petroleum industry law to measures that are aimed at improving power and electricity generation for all Nigerians. Government has invested heavily in building modern airports and railway network and roads. Every Naira is better managed than in prior administrations.
“This greater fiscal probity was achieved despite the vast reduction in national revenue caused by the COVID-19 and recurrent global economic downturns. The Buhari government has done more with much less than its PDP predecessors did. The successive PDP administrations did next to nothing with the plenty they had. What they did with our nation’s abundance is no secret. But what they did not do was even a greater embarrassment.
They left abandoned infrastructure projects all across the nation. The APC completed them. They allowed ISWAP/ Boko Haram to erect strongholds. The Buhari government has been compelled to wage great war against these threats because of the decade of neglect by the PDP.
The PDP should have uprooted this evil when it was but a seed. The APC-led government is now left to contend with the dangerous tree it has become. Yet, as surely as I can state my name, the next APC government shall uproot this evil such that, never again, shall it try to take hold in this land,” Tinubu added.
He further said: “The powerful already have. Let us give succour and an open door to the less privileged. Let us bring forth a society built on shared prosperity, belief in justice, compassion for others and an unshakable commitment to a form of governance that treats all citizens with equal respect and due regard. Let us not just open the door to the promise of a better society. Let us brick by brick and stone by stone build a new society that begets a greater nation.
“Weighty matters now rest in the balance. A fateful decision awaits you the delegates to this convention. Choose that which most wholly benefits the nation. Think big at this moment that we may accomplish great things in the next APC administration that will come on 29 May 2023.
“My experience in office and the knowledge gained through hard work, tough trials and patient undertaking have prepared me for this hour. I am a man of purpose with a serious mission. My vow is to use all that I know and all of my abilities to the benefit of the nation and its people. I do not step forward because I think this nomination is my due. I step forward because I can help lead our nation to become what it ought to be.
“I do not say this as a boast. Hear me out. I claim not to be special nor great. My training, experiences, acquired knowledge are what is special and uniquely suited for this moment. I am merely a conduit, a servant of a cause much larger than myself.”
The party leader further said: “Though our tribe and tongue may differ, we must build a united country, premised on equity, fairness and justice. True reform and progress lie not in copying others but in identifying our own opportunities. I have done this in Lagos. I humbly ask you to allow me to use these skills and experiences to advance the nation.
“I come to you with a coherent vision on how to improve our nation such that our schools, industry, agriculture and infrastructure will become the pride of all. Ours shall be a land where all Nigerians will have an equal chance and no one is excluded because of his ethnic background, religious creed, place of origin or social station. We are all Nigerians.
“By this statement, I seek your help and support to become our party’s nominee and standard bearer in the coming February 2023 elections. To lead Nigerians is a sacred trust, which I do not take lightly or seek selfishly. By giving me the party’s mandate, I hereby make solemn vow to make Nigeria the best home for its citizens.”
Lawan
On his part, Senate President Lawan told the gathering that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had laid the foundation for the progress of the country, and if he is given opportunity he will build on the achievements.
“I am running for the office of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because this party has been built well around ideas which we all share.
“I will appeal to you that you elect someone that achievements so far by this administration are consolidated,” said the lawmaker.
Earlier, Imo state Governor and Chairman of the Central Planning Committee of the Convention, Senator Hope Uzodinma, had assured that the governing party would organise a free and fair presidential primary.
“Our party has always proven opposition wrong and we will prove that today with free, fair and transparent election,” he said.
Osinbajo
Also addressing the delegates, Vice President Osinbajo who defied all manners of pressures from political leaders to step down for Tinubu, said having been a Vice President to President Buhari he will not be learning on the job.
He appealed to the delegates to make the right decision by electing him the candidate of the APC.
Meanwhile, a presidential aspirant, Emeka Nwajiuba, did not show up at the Eagles Square, venue of the primary.
Aggrieved aspirants reject govs’ list
Prior to the commencement of voting, seven of the presidential aspirants had dismissed the names of five presidential aspirants purportedly sent to President Buhari to select a consensus candidate as a ruse.
The northern APC governors had reportedly shortlisted and presented five aspirants to the president.
Among the five aspirants recommended by APC northern governors and the National Working Committee (NWC), three (Tinubu, Osinbajo and Fayemi) are from the South-west. Chief Rotimi Amaechi is from the South-South while Governor Dave Umahi is from the South-east.
Denouncing the list, the aggrieved aspirants, in a statement issued in the early hours of Tuesday shortly after a brief meeting in Abuja, distanced themselves from the purported list.
The aspirants include: Cross River state Governor Ben Ayade; former Minister for State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; former Minister for Science,Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, former Governor Rochas Okorocha and businessman Tein Jack-Rich.
The statement reads: “In the past few hours we have been bombarded with calls and messages from my supporters and concerned Nigerians on a list of five Presidential aspirants submitted to President Buhari to choose from.
“As long as we are concerned no list has been submitted to Mr. President, the move by the Governors is considered a joke taken to the extreme with the aim of playing with the intellect of Nigerians particularly us from the South-East.
“Mr. President’s directive is very simple, that all Presidential aspirants including those from the North should meet and harmonise in order to produce a single candidate. As it stands we have not been consulted or attended a meeting where it was agreed that such names be sent to Mr. President.
“In the so-called list out of the five names only one was selected from the South-East and we are talking about fairness and justice to the South.
“What the Governors have done is a mere picnic in the park. These are the same Governors talking about equity, justice and fairness yet in a clandestine manner purportedly sidelined the South-east.
“In the absence of any harmonised agreement no list has been submitted to Mr. President, what they have done is just nothing but a charade which is bound to fail.
“We also have it on good authority that the majority of these Governors have been promised and also given various forms of gratifications in order to thwart the process in favour of one aspirant and such grand plot will fail woefully.
“More so, the party led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu remains the official organ of the party through which decisions taken by stakeholders in the party will be communicated and acted upon, in the absence of that any other move remains null and void.
“We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard such information, as we remain in the race hence no consensus agreement has been reached amongst all contestants.”
The shortlisted names were Vice President Osinbajo, Asiwaju Tinubu, Governor Fayemi, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and Ebonyi state Governor Dave Umahi.
Alleged inducement
And in line with the aggrieved aspirants’ claim of financial inducement, a top contestant reportedly doled out between $2m and $3million each to induce some governors.
Although some governors were said to have rejected, it was not however clear what the three others who allegedly took the sum intended using it for.
It was further gathered that security agencies who were said to be on the trail of high-end cash movements by some presidential aspirants are now said to be awaiting further directives while continuing to monitor the situation while the exercise lasted.
Gaya on those who stepped down
Also, Head of Osinbajo Campaign Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) said three presidential aspirants had stepped down for Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
Speaking in a live interview with Channels TV at the Eagle Square where the presidential primary election of the APC is taking place, he said former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and two other presidential aspirants stepped down for Osinbajo.
Gaya said: “I have been informed that Ken Nnamani and two others have stepped down for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. I’m aware and I think this will be announced later today.”
He noted that the contest was between Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo.
Gaya said: “The party has agreed to shift power to the south. In principle, we have President Muhammadu Buhari from the northern part of Nigeria; naturally, the power should shift to South. I believe this is what will make Nigerians believe APC is a party for all and not a sectional party.”
…Only 2 aspirants remaining in the race – Gaya
A high ranking member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kabiru Gaya from Kano disclosed that the list of presidential aspirants in the party had been reduced to two.
He made this known ahead of the commencement of voting by delegates at the APC presidential primary holding at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
Speaking during an interview with Channels TV at the primary ground, Gaya revealed the names of the two aspirants remaining in the race for the APC
ticket as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Gaya during the interview added that the plan by the party was to have a candidate from the southwest and a running mate from the north.
Gaya said: “Well, we are still at the process. We know during conventions like this, decisions are taken at the last minute and when done at the last minute, people accept that decision.
“Yes, we are trying to trim down. All that we know is that the candidate at the presidency should go to the south. And as it is now, it is going to the south, so that we can have a northern vice-president.
“If we don’t agree on one person, at least two or three persons will go to the poll. The party wants the aspirants contesting to be reduced to two or even one.
“The two are Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, so it comes down to the South West. The party would not simply say they’ve dropped a candidate.
“When the process begins, the candidate will mount the podium and tell us if they are stepping down, and who they are stepping down for.”
We’re yet to know – Bagudu
But Kebbi state Governor Abubakar Bagudu, who chairs the party’s Presidential Convention Planning Committee, said the party was yet to know if any aspirant had stepped down.
Bagudu made this known while fielding questions from newsmen at the venue of the APC’s primary election.
According to him, everything was set for the election: “You will not know who is stepping down or has stepped down until we are about to start the election.
“There are many people who may choose to step down at some stage of the process either on the convention ground or otherwise.
“However, our constitution is very clear, even if it is only two people remaining in the race, there will be election.
“I do not know officially who has stepped down because I cannot rely on the media reports.
…Jigawa delegate slumps, dies
On a tragic note, an APC delegate from Jigawa state, Isah Baba-Buji, slumped and died Tuesday while taking his breakfast in Abuja.
Spokesperson of the party in the state, Bashir Kundu, confirmed the incident to reporters in Jigawa. He said the official was pronounced dead while taking his breakfast and preparing to move to the venue of the party convention.
Kundu said Baba-Buji’s body was being prepared to be conveyed back to Jigawa state for burial rites.
The deceased was the APC vice chairman for Jigawa Southwest.
…Remain united, vote candidate with best chances – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari early Wednesday morning in Abuja urged members of the APC to remain united and avoid acrimony, rallying delegates at the special convention to consider voting the presidential candidate with the best chances of securing victory in the 2023 general elections.
In his address at the Eagle Square, venue of the special convention, the President said the critical task ahead of the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) ”remains to continue to forge the unity of purpose among party members and to keep securing needed compromises in the interest of the party.”
The President, who spoke to the delegates before the voting exercise to elect the presidential candidate, urged party officials and delegates to follow due process and abide by all extant laws and regulations pertaining to election of the party flag bearer.
”I commend your efforts in organising party exercises and urge you not to rest on our achievements so far. Now we have a big task ahead: the special convention for the presidential primary.
”I congratulate all the winners, our newly emerged party flag bearers, so far, for the 2023 general elections and urge you to be magnanimous in victory, particularly towards your fellow aspirants who conceded to you. I urge you at all times to abide by the Party rules and follow party reconciliation processes.
”In every competitive event, there are bound to be winners and runners-up; and as such, all the aspirants who lost or conceded at the primaries, I equally urge you to maintain the spirit of sportsmanship and to stand by our great party for the next challenges ahead.
”As we go into the presidential primary, I urge all to keep to the same spirit. We must avoid acrimony and maintain the spirit of sportsmanship. The critical task ahead of the Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC remains to continue to forge the unity of purpose among party members and to keep securing needed compromises in the interest of our great party.
”I enjoin you all to be fair to all and to create a level playing field for all the presidential aspirants in the coming crucial party exercise.
”Please, follow due process in all the party decisions and I call on all party members, particularly the party officials and delegates to abide by all extant laws, rules, and regulations and to consider voting for the presidential candidate with the best chances of securing victory for our great party in the coming general elections,” he said.
