A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jackson Lekan Ojo, has called on Nigerians to zero the search for President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor to Governor Aminu Tambuwal and Senator Godswill Akpabio based on the template proposed by former President Ibrhim Babangida.
General Babangida was reported to have suggested that the next president should be a Nigerian of less than 60 years who has harmonious links to all the all the six geo-political zones.
Reacting to General Babangida’s interview, Jackson Ojo declared that Governor Tambuwal and Senator Akpabio perfectly fit into the calibre of persons Babangida’s suggested should take over from succeed out-going Present Buhari’s.
“After the interview, I put one or two together, I quickly visualize the kind of personalities the former president was talking about. He’s already visualizing the person that will be the president of Nigeria 2023 and he said such a person must have experience and must be known or know people across the country and when they asked him of the age bracket, he said he must not be more than 60, he said.
The APC Chieftain added ” I got somebody that represents that class in the north and I got a second person that represents that class in the south. These two personalities are Aminu Tambuwal the current governor of Sokoto State and The present Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio. The are the two personalities in my view that fit into the recommendation or dictate of former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.”
Responding to a question on why he narrowed down on Tambuwal and Akpabio, Jackson Ojo, who is also a security expert said “Let me start with Akpabio. Akpabio falls within that age bracket one, Akpabio started as a commissioner under Victor Attah, and after then, he became governor of Akwa Ibom State, an uncommon governor of Akwa Ibom State that during his own time as governor, he had no rival, comparison, no one to compare with him in terms of his achievement as governor. I don’t know him, he doesn’t know me. Two, after that he went on be in a senator. The rule of the senate does not permit a first timer to be a principal officer but Akpabio went to the Senate for the first time and became a principal officer as minority leader of the Senate. After that, he now crossed to APC and presently he is the minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
He continued “So, today, I stand to be corrected, there is no politician in the south, either from the East, west and north, and south-south, that has got such a political profile of Akpabio and in the area of achievement, I still stand to be corrected, the southern Nigeria has never gotten a governor like Akpabio. And I pray that Southern Nigeria will get a governor that will so much work in the interest of his people. I don’t think there’s anyone to compare to Akpabio and if what Babangida said is anything to go by, Akpabio represents that group.
“Then in the north, Tambuwal, Tambuwal was in the house of reps as minority leader, later he became majority whip, later he became the speaker, now he is the governor. He has both legislative and executive experience and I want to add that he is a lawyer. He has gotten all these experience over the years and he’s a very vibrant young man, at least, he’s in that age bracket as distated by Babangida. So when you look at it as a former speaker, as a former member of house of reps, minority leader, chief whip and speaker, he worked with 360 other house of reps members for the period of almost 12 years, and each of this, he’s a man that knows everybody in almost all the local government across the country.
“When you look at these two people and when you look at president ibrahim Babangida, he’s a man that whenever he talks, forget about some of the things he did while in office that people were not happy, he’s somebody that has written his name on the sand of time. He has written his name in gold. If not because of one or two things.
“Those are real elder statesmen that when they talk, and that is what we are clamouring for that we don’t want So I’m too sure that by 2023 if the power should go to the south I think Akpabio is the best material, if the power should go to the north, Tambuwal is the man. And for me, if not because of party affiliation, if you marry Akpabio and Tambuwal together, you have gotten the best brain to govern this country but they don’t belong to the same party.”
