The All Progressives Congress (APC), especially its top brass may be on the horns of a dilemma over who to choose between the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to fly the party’s ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
Credible sources in the party hierarchy who do not want to be mentioned told BusinessDay that while Tinubu has the structure and political war chest, Osinbajo has no baggage to warrant much opprobrium from the Nigerian electorate.
They said one does not need rocket science to discern that the duo are the first eleven of APC as far as the presidential race is concerned, going by political strength and integrity tests which both can pass respectively.
“This is a very tough time for APC leaders as it is becoming difficult to choose between Tinubu and Osinbajo, who will become the party’s presidential candidate for 2023. The party is indeed in a state of dilemma concerning the two who have their individual advantages to the party.
“Tinubu for instance has what you can call political structures and national spread of contacts nationwide. He already has a solid team on the ground to work for him. As a tactician, he was the first to inform our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition sent the signal that he is serious.
“The Asiwaju also contributed a lot not just to the merger that brought APC on board but had ensured the emergence of Buhari as APC presidential candidate for the 2015 general election. However, there seem to be public concerns on his person in which people are questioning his source of wealth, public records, and even fitness to man the office of the President,” one of the sources said.
“Osinbajo still has the age on his side. He has both the intellectual capacity and the experience to drive the ship of the presidency. Unlike Tinubu and others aspiring for the APC presidential ticket, there are no obvious questions hovering around his integrity. But the Vice President is lacking in terms of political structures as he is to a large extent part of the Tinubu dynasty. These issues are giving the party serious headache,” another party chieftain noted.
While APC has not come up openly on the issue of zoning, there are signals that the party has settled on conceding the Presidency to the South as evident in the number of aspirants from the North for its National Chairman in the February 26 National Convention.
Though not guaranteed in APC and Constitution of any Nigerian political party, the practice has always been that both the President and National Chairman of his party are not always from the same region of the country; North or South.
So far, there are over 10 contenders to the APC National Chairmanship, including former Deputy National Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Saliu Mustapha, former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Almakura, former governor of Borno State, Alimodu Sheriff and Senator representing Niger East District, Mohammed Sani-Musa.
Others are former governors of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, Borno State, Kashim Shettima, Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, George Akume, Sunny Moniedafe, Mohammed Saidu-Etsu and former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sani Shinkafi.
Out of these aspirants, is only Moniedafe who also argued that he is from Adamawa, a North-Eastern state as he was born and brought up there even though with Delta origin that could be said to be from the Southern part of the country. This is in addition to permutations that the APC National Chairmanship has been micro-zoned to the North-central.
The body language in APC portends that the Presidency may not be micro-zoned to the South-East despite the agitations on the grounds that the zone which is a leg of the tripod of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba contributed little or nothing to the emergence and victories of the party in both 2015 and 2019, hence not deserving been rewarded with the plum job.
Those propagating this political summon alluded that the Senate Chip Whip, Orji Kalu is aware of the thinking hence he had put a caveat emptor that he will only contest if APC zones the office to South-East.
Kalu had last year said he will consider contesting for President if APC zones its presidential ticket to the South Eastern region.
“I have not made up my mind whether to vie for president or not. But if the opportunity is given to the South-East, I will think again to see if there is the room because the party has not said where they are zoning the President,” he had said.
Hence, APC has not formally zoned the Presidency to any party of the country, there are a number of aspirants who have overtly or covertly indicated an interest in clinging to the party’s presidential ticket.
They include Tinubu, Osinbajo, Kalu, former Imo Governor, Rochas Okorocha; former Zamfara Governor, Ahmed Sani Yerima; Ekiti State Governor, Fayemi Kayode; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; Benue businessman, Moses Ayom; Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, amongst others.
Of these aspirants, it seems that Tinubu and Osinbajo are the ones causing ripples within the APC as they are already running neck to neck and almost being at daggers drawn for the ticket.
While the Asiwaju of Lagos is leading the battle himself and his team, the Support Groups Management Council (SGMC), Osinbajo is doing it through The Progressive Project (TPP).
Read also: APC side-steps crisis, set for convention
Apart from the visit to Buhari, either Tinubu or SGMC has followed or marched each ground the TPP marched in search for the key to the Aso Rock when Buhari vacates in 2023. For instance, the then Osinbajo support group under the aegis of the Progressives Consolidation Group (PCG) had on October 22, 2021, held a rally in Ikeja, Lagos, where they on the APC to adopt the Vice President as its consensus candidate for the presidential election.
Less than 24 hours, the then Tinubu Support Group (TSG), an umbrella organisation, housing an amalgam of sibling groups on October 23 in Abuja asserted that to secure the votes of the majority in 2023, APC must present a candidate who knows where the shoe pinches the average Nigerian which is Tinubu.
Also, after the Osinbajo group was in Minna to consult the former Nigerian Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, Tinubu led a delegation to the ‘Maradona’ to seek for support to his presidential bid.
Again, barely 24 hours after the pro-Osinbajo group wrapped up their historic meeting (symposium) in Kano, Tinubu stormed the center of commerce state on a supposed condolence visit to families of prominent indigenes that died which turned out to be a political really of a sort.
Nigerians now watch out for when Osinbajo or his team would visit Buhari to also intimate him of his deputy’s presidential bid and jet to London to meet with the APC Chapter there as Tinubu has done while according to others he is on medical tourism.
