A former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, may be kicked out of the presidential race by the proposal of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to adopt the consensus method in choosing its officials and candidates in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Newsflash Nigeria had reported that the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Senator John Akpanudoehede, had revealed that the party would soon come up with a consensus and agreeable presidential candidate that will fly its flag in 2023.
Akpanudoehede stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday, July 20, in Abuja.
The statement was in reaction to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recent allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari had a self-succession plan.
The APC scribe, however, stressed that the party would not allow individual ambitions to derail the Buhari administration, ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
He said unlike the opposition PDP, the APC was a disciplined party, noting that the former was just been haunted by its past.
Mr Akpanudoedehe recalled the third term agenda of the PDP while it was in power, pointing that the “APC would surprise it with the outcome of its planned congresses scheduled to commence on July 31”.
“After our congresses and the National Convention, we will shock them (PDP) by bringing a consensus and an agreeable candidate that will fly the flag of the party come 2023.
“APC has no third term agenda like PDP. What we are doing now is to stabilise the party and not allow individual ambitions to derail President Buhari’s administration,” he said.
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But the party source said the proposal by the APC to adopt the presidential consensus candidates in the forthcoming 2023 elections may kick out the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu in the race.
Tinubu, according to insiders, has established supremacy among presidential aspirants that gives him strong prospects as a possible candidate in a free and fair contest. Sources say that the main obstacle to him, however, is his health which is outside the control of men.
The proposal has, however, been openly opposed by pro-Tinubu tendencies especially in Ekiti where Senator Tola Adeniyi, chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023 (SWAGA) raised his opposition last Thursday.
The proposal for consensus in choosing party officials and candidates according to other party sources follows the realization by those opposed to the former Lagos State governor that he, (Tinubu) cannot be easily stopped in a free and fair contest.
Tinubu it was gathered has made strong inroads into Northwest and Northeast states with heavy delegates’ count.
Sources say that the Tinubu camp is especially strong in Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Borno states that are known to be rich in delegates.
As a party source said, “The constitution of the APC provides that serving and former members of the National Assembly are statutory delegates and this means that all former lawmakers from 1999 are automatic delegates.”
“You can see that Tinubu is very strong in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Borno and these are states that have a rich base of delegates for the convention and most of them are aligned towards Tinubu,” the party source revealed.
That is beside the Southwest states which have been mostly in the hands of the opposition where former legislators have mostly been aligned to Tinubu’s aspiration.
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The Tinubu camp is also said to be doing well in the South-South especially in Akwa Ibom and Delta States.
However, the strong challenge he has in Akwa Ibom is Akpanudoedehe, the secretary of the CECPC who was until recently famously known to belong to his camp.
In the absence of Akpanudoedehe, Tinubu is said to have mobilized an alternative organization with a focus in reaping from the state which has the highest number of Local Government Areas in the South-South.
A leading party chieftain in Delta State spoke in the same direction on Friday, saying “Delta no dey carry last, so we are for now looking towards him.”
However, the adoption of the consensus method it was gathered, could see Tinubu being shoved aside by powerful interests around the presidency determined to stop him through influencing the choice of party officials and delegates that would be automatic delegates in the national convention.
