Who will the APC choose as its presidential candidate when it holds its presidential primary in a few days time ?
That is the big question on the lips of political watchers.Many are eager to know who will be the candidate to square up with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Will it be Prof.Yemi Osinbajo? Will it be Chief Rotimi Amaechi?
Will it be Senate President? Or Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
Last weekend,was filled with intrigues and suspense, as Nigeria made yet another history in its political space. The two major political parties, the All Progressive Congress, APC and Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP were billed to field their respective presidential candidates for the 2023 general elections.
Both parties were trying to understudy which zone the other would push its presidential candidates, to know which way to go. The APC stalwarts believe a PDP presidential candidate from the North will not be good for their zoning agreement, and the PDP are of the opinion that the only way to fight the ruling party is to clinch the northern votes.
In the end, the PDP primary conducted a couple of days ago produced former vice president, Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flag bearer.
What then does this mean to the APC?
The emergence of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has put the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a crossroad, making the leaders of the ruling party cautious of their next steps.
As we speak, there are strong indications that negotiation is ongoing with the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike to run as Vice President to Atiku, which means that the South South would have also been clinched by the PDP, another strong force which is Ben Ayade had already lost his bid to run as a senator at the primaries.
Recall that the APC had postponed its primary,twice within a week. The party was blamed for the postponement of the June 3 deadline for the conduct of the party’s primaries for the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday.
Barely 7 days to the new date, Citypeople can authoritatively tell you that activities for the exercise have not commenced.
Party leaders, aspirants, and other stakeholders of the party are at crossroads over choices to make. The screening of the 23 presidential aspirants of the party slated for Monday 30th May 2022 was postponed indefinitely.
The National Working Committee (NWC) under the leadership of a former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has neither fixed a new date nor constituted a committee to carry out the exercise.
Although there is a heightening of the push for the retention of the party’s presidential ticket in the North. The emergence of Atiku has amplified it.
But a section of the power brokers in Abuja is said to be still rooting for former President Goodluck Jonathan as a possible flag bearer of the party.
Former vice-President Atiku Abubakar speaks during the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on October 6, 2018. – Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has picked Abubakar to challenge President Buhari who is seeking a second term in presidential polls scheduled for February 2019. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP) (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)
The 4 northerners in the race for the ticket are,Senate President, Lawan; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and former Zamfara State Governor, Sen. Ahmed Yarima.
A former governor said the emergence of the former vice president has completely changed the dynamics.
Pundits also hold that, unlike the southern aspirants, the northern aspirants are likely to step down for any of the preferred candidates, while the southern aspirants have shown aggressive desperation to either clinch the ticket or leave.
But they also believe that of all the candidates,only Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu can stand and defeat Atiku at the polls when push comes to shove.
Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu have both been in the political space for more than 3 decades and have continued to influence the politics of the country.
But it is believed that Atiku’s emergence on the platform, would lock the popular votes from the North in his favour and seal APC’s defeat. Tribal and religious affiliation matters more to the average Northerner than party loyalty,a source revealed.
However, former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday said the emergence of Atiku has shut the doors on southern contestants in the APC.
Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate and one of the promoters of Lawan, urged President Buhari to pick his successor.
“For our party the APC, it is no longer feasible to talk about southern candidates except the APC wants to go on political retirement.
The Abia senator also urged the party’s leadership to zone APC presidential ticket to the North East.
“I call on President Buhari to pick a successor from the North East and that will be the equity the South East needs. With the North East, the cycle will be closest to completion of regions producing the president of Nigeria,” he said in a statement.
But the Talban Bauchi, Tahir Ibrahim Tahir, in an article tagged, “APC’s bitter but puissant pill,” said Tinubu is the only aspirant that can match Atiku.
“APC must honour its unwritten agreement of power shift, in the spirit of federal character and rotation. Tinubu as a southerner is the only politician that has exhibited the northern brand of inclusiveness in politics,” he said.
Whatever outcome the APC comes up with next week, it is certain that it will be made out of Atiku’s emergence from the PDP,on the other side.
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