The emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections is unsettling the camp of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
Specifically, the APC, which at the moment has 25 presidential aspirants eyeing its ticket, is facing an ‘uphill task’ on how to ensure the emergence of a candidate that can stand Abubakar in the presidential contest.
At the presidential primaries held weekend in Abuja, Vice President Abubakar defeated Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike, former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bauchi state Governor Bala Mohammed among others to emerge the PDP standard bearer in next year’s general election.
Of the 767 accredited delegates out of the 774 expected, Abubakar polled 371 votes while Wike got 237, with Saraki having 70 votes.
APC, PDP game plan?
Prior to this time, the APC had at different times, altered its timetable of its primary elections and congresses, a move believed to be a cat and mouse game between the governing party and the opposition PDP.
For instance, the two had to reschedule their activities to ensure no one beats the other to it in their bids to elect their presidential candidates.
Also, the APC had on two occasions or thereabouts, postponed the screening of its presidential aspirants.
As at the time of this report, the party, in a bid to get it right on who should be the right candidate, has fixed June 6 as its new convention date as against the May 29/30 date earlier announced.
And even at that, it is still silent on the date for the screening of the presidential aspirants, a development that has continued to generate some row among stakeholders, including Moh’d Salihu Lukman, the party’s national vice chairman (North-west) who has accused the Adamu Abdullahi-led National Working Committee (NWC) of unilaterally ‘running the show.’
All calls put through by Blueprint to Felix Morka, the APC spokesman, were not answered as at the time of this report.
But a top party source told this medium that “Atiku’s emergence has sent us back to the drawing board and we have to work round that and ensure a credible and capable candidate emerges.”
What option?
On the options before the party on best way to confront the PDP candidate, Blueprint gathered that the APC is “re-strategising” in this regard.
Tinubu
It was gathered that putting forward Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a leading aspirant with the financial muscle to prosecute the campaign is one of the options on the table.
“The party, as a matter of necessity must re-strategise and ensure the right thing is done. Atiku’s emergence must give us a serious cause for concern. With strong financial base, we will need a Tinubu to prosecute this ‘war’, otherwise we may not find it easy,” said another party source.
But reminded that a northerner would have been the party’s best bet, the party chieftain said “though from south west, but Tinubu has a strong network in the north and across the country. So, combined with a strong financial base, the party stands better chance fielding him, via consensus.”
Osinbajo
But a pro-Osinbajo supporter and leader of IdentifytheRightLeader, a political cum civic organisation, Temi Okesanjo, believes Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is better fit to tackle the former vice president.
“Yes, H.E Atiku is strong financially and was there before. What we require is beyond the financial muscle. While we are not ruling out the role of money in prosecuting the campaign, I want to say here that we need more than money. We need character and loyalty to the principal as well as competence to handle the myriad of the nation’s challenges. Yes, Vice President Osinbajo is not a man of wealth because he doesn’t believe in using the office to enrich himself, but Nigerians are ready to rally round and support him to ensure he attains victory first at the level of primaries and the election proper. So more than anyone, Osinbajo is eminently qualified to stand up to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 general elections,” she added.
APC risks defeat in 2023 – Orji Kalu
Also speaking in similar vein, Senate Chief Whip Orji Kalu, says Abubakar’s emergence as the PDP standard bearer has made it compelling for the APC to choose its candidate from the north if the party must retain power in 2023.
In a statement Sunday, Kalu specifically said the APC should pick its candidate from the North-east where Abubakar comes from.
He therefore narrowed the choice to an APC presidential aspirant, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, who is from Yobe state in the North-east.
“Congratulations to the PDP for electing a North Easterner,” Kalu said in the statement posted on Facebook page.
“Nigerians must have seen what I saw yesterday. For our party the APC, it is no longer feasible to talk about Southern candidates except the APC wants to go on political retirement,” he said.
The lawmaker, who recently got his party’s nod to contest the Senate seat next year, urged the APC national leadership and President Muhammadu Buhari to force the APC to pick its presidential candidate from the North-east.
“I urge the National Chairman of the party and the entire NWC to stamp their feet and zone APC presidential ticket to the North East.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has a right to choose his successor, and I call on him to pick Senator Ahmad Lawan as his successor,” he said.
The senator further explained why Mr Buhari should “force” the APC to pick its candidate from the North-east.
“In every democratic setting, presidents and governors support and pick their successors.
“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.
He urged other APC presidential aspirants to drop their ambition and support Lawan, whom he is supporting after dropping his own presidential ambition.
Jonathan not an option – Lukman
Meanwhile, following speculations in some quarters that some persons were considering the former President Goodluck Jonathan as flag bearer for the ruling APC, the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-west, Malam Salihu Mohammed Lukman has dismissed it, saying former president “is not qualified to be the presidential candidate of APC.”
Speaking with Blueprint on the telephone last night, Lukman described the suggestion as unthinkable for anybody to conceive the idea of the former president as the APC candidate.
“There are clear guidelines in terms of how individual members of the party are qualified to emerge as the candidate of the party. One, through the sale of nomination forms. Assume Jonathan claimed to be a member of the party; he has not bought the forms to the best of our knowledge. How do you come from the back door?
“Secondly, as far as our memory can recall, the party became popular on the basis of the campaign against the bad governance of Jonathan and nothing has changed that we can now say has qualified him to emerge as the arrowhead of our campaign in 2023.
“As far as I am concerned, these two reasons disqualified Jonathan from even aspiring to become the candidate of the party. I don’t know where he is coming from. Unfortunately, in this country, where there is the mentality that everything is possible, but it must be clearly stated that as far as the leadership of the party is concerned, the person of Jonathan can’t be under consideration,” he said.
Lukman also dismissed the claim Jonathan submitted the party’s nomination forms bought for him by some Fulani groups.
“I am waiting for anybody to present evidence that a form has been submitted for Jonathan before the deadline for submission. I am waiting to see such evidence. You know, such a form will contain all details including the membership details of Jonathan. That I have not seen. Maybe somebody is hiding his form somewhere else. I am not aware Jonathan bought the nomination form,” he said.
On the alleged plan to settle for a consensus arrangement to elect APC’s presidential candidate, the North-west APC leader said such move will hit the rock.
“As far as the leadership of APC is concerned and I am a member of that leadership, that (imposition) is not going to be possible. As far as the majority, indeed all of us (NWC) are concerned, everybody that bought the nomination form will be given a level playing field, so that such person is qualified to be a member of APC and is qualified to aspire for such an important position.
“The campaign leading to the emergence of the candidate and the eventual trend of delegates to the convention will be driven based on the aspiration of bringing out somebody that is acceptable to Nigerians on the bases of which the party can win. It is not on the bases of individual scheming,” the party leader further said.
‘Consensus our best bet’
But an APC chieftain, Osita Okechukwu, has said the emergence of Abubakar as PDP candidate will have little or no impact on the re-election of the governing party.
To this end, the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Director General pleaded with President Buhari to quickly come to the rescue of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, before politicians depreciates it out of recognition.
Okechukwu, who urged consensus arrangement in the choice of the party’s presidential candidate, noted that a nation’s currency is one of the critical indices of measuring the general health of its economy.
He said when the nation’s currency nose-dives, it leads to hyper-inflation, gross unemployment and abject poverty, thereby worsening the nation’s security.
Speaking with newsmen, Sunday, in Abuja, Okechukwu decried the alleged dollar rain during the PDP presidential primaries at the National Stadium Abuja.
“Methinks His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s opportunistic victory will have little or no impact on APC’s election of a presidential candidate from among Ndigbo aspirants or by extension the southern belt aspirants. I don’t think Mr President I know even going by consensus will deny the south their turn,” he said.
Reminded of the possibility that with an APC southern presidential candidate Abubakar would sweep the northern votes, OKechukwu wondered what new tangible thing the former VP was bringing to the table in the face of prevailing daunting economic scenario.
“Most importantly, one, northern voters are sophisticated, having voted for Chiefs MKO Abiola and Olusegun Obasanjo, with all indicators they will vote southerner this time around so as to shame the PDP for breaching the rotation convention in their constitution.
“Secondly, there are number of northern voters who are patriots who believe sincerely on the ancient doctrine of equity, natural justice and the imperative of unity of our dear country. For going south is the best solution to smoothen the polarisation in the land. Thirdly, the dormant Igbo voters in Kano, Lagos and other towns plus core non-Igbo APC voters will be woken up to trounce Waziri Adamawa at the polls,” he said.
On the alleged sharing of dollars during the primary, he said: “if that could happen in a party with about 731 delegates, imagine what will happen if APC with about 2, 322 delegates is allowed to indulge in Dollar Rain.”
“If the Naira is already bleeding because of Dollar Rain on 731 delegates; please better imagine the degree of depreciation of the Naira if another blitz of Dollar Rain is allowed to be splashed on 2,322 delegates? This is the farming season; as such the Buhari’s Agrarian Revolution would also be at risk if the Naira is allowed to depreciate further. Prices of fertilizer, seedlings and other farm implements will hit roof top,” he said.
On why he is calling for consensus instead of direct and indirect mode of primary election, which is more democratic than consensus, the DG VON said: “All the three are democratic and are in our law books. Please, is it not paradoxical that the governors and ex-governors who oppose consensus had adopted same consensus and even outright imposition to select their successors? To me they have lost the moral high ground to oppose Mr President from adopting such legal mode of primary election. One’s appeal is that politically correct aspirant should be consensually presented.”