How Tinubu Emerged the APC Presidential Candidate of APC for 2023 Election
Dream always come true but when and how it will come true can be difficult to explain. However, with the major contenders of good reputation in their classes and well represented across regions and ethnics. One of the major contenders in the APC presidential primaries, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emerged as the APC Presidential Candidate for 2023 General Election in Nigeria.
Many political observers have coined a name for President Muhammadu Buhari as the saviour of the 11th Hour due to his role in the last elective convention of APC where he arranged for a consensus list in the very few hours to the National Convention of his Party- APC.
The President first met with the Governors that are members of APC and he said, “In keeping with the established internal policies of the Party and as we approach the Convention in a few days, therefore, I wish to solicit the reciprocity and support of the Governors and other stakeholders in picking my successor, who would fly the flag of our party for election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
However, all the aspirants wait forever until Tinubu who has been a political strategists waiting for no man’s endorsement continued his home work and won with a total vote of 1,271 in the primary while his closest rival polled 316 votes – Rotimi Amaechi with others as follows
Yemi Osinbajo – 235
Ahmad Lawan – 152
Yahaya Bello – 47
Dave Umahi – 38
Ben Ayade – 37
Ahmed Sani – 4
Ogbonnaya Onu – 1
Tunde Bakare – 0
Rochas Okorocha – 0
The Report of the Screening Committee
Chief John Odigie Oyegun who was the first APC Chairman after the tenure of the interim national chairman Chief Bisi Akande chaired the presidential screening committee. Chief who was believed to a political rival of Asiwaju Bola Hamed Tinubu submitted that ‘’we engaged every aspirant on the issue of consensus and it was a pleasant surprise that 99 per cent agreed that the party is supreme and whatever the party finally decides, with proper consultations, they were likely to accept. There is only one person that said I will accept consensus as long as it is based on me. He also said “So, I think it is a point I need to emphasise on it. That gives you a way in the hours ahead to trim down even more drastically. But finally, we think we should not be afraid of the contested primary if anybody insists on the contest,”
13 First Class Rated Aspirants and 10 Other Qualified Aspirants
President Buhari met with APC Stake Holder with A Changed Tone. In his previous meeting, the president was quoted while urging the governors to support him in picking his successor. However, this time around he said “Without prejudice to your qualifications, I urge all of you to hold consultations amongst yourselves and with the party, with a view to building a consensus in a manner that would help the party reduce the number of aspirants, bring up a formidable candidate and scale down the anxiety of party members,” Mr Buhari said at the meeting.
According to major newspapers and other blog sources, the 13 cleared presidential aspirants include;
- Professor Yemi – Vice President
- Asiwaju Bola Tinubu – Former Lagos State Governor
- Mr. Rotimi Amaechi – Former Transport Minister
- HE Kayode Fayemi – Ekiti State Governor
- Mr. Ahmad Lawan – Senate President
- HE David Umahi – Ebonyi State Governor
- HE Badaru Abubakar – Jigawa State Governor
- HE Yahaya Bello – Kogi State Governor
- Senator Godswill Akpabio – Former Niger Delta Minister
- Senator Ibikunle Amosun – Former Ogun State Governor
- Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba – Former Minister of State for Education
- Mr. Chris Onu – Former Technology Minister
- Mr. Tein Jack-Rich – Oil magnate and wealthy businessman,.
Other 10 Cleared But Advised to Withdram Aspirants
- Ajayi Borroffice
- Rochas Okorocha
- Tunde Bakare
- Dimeji Bankole
- Timipre Sylva
- Uju Kennedy Ohnenye
- Ikeobasi Mokelu
- Ahmed Yerima
- Nicholas Felix Nwagbo
- Ken Nnamani
Inititially, we could boldly say that the following 6 contenders stood out:
- Prof. Yemi Osibanjo
Prof. Yemi Osibanjo is the Vice President of the Republic of Nigeria. On the 11th April, 2022 He declared to contest for the president of this country by saying. “For the past seven (7) years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“In these 7 years, while on the train of duty and service, I traversed every part of our country, meeting Nigerians of every cadre, class, tribe and walks of life, both young and old; …
Also, he declared ‘’ I believe that the very reason why the Almighty God gave me these experiences, these insights and these opportunities, is that they must be put to the use of our country and its great peoples. PYO as he’s fondly called has travelled to meet delegates in almost all the stated of federation including FCT with a message of being the most prepared and experienced among the APC aspirants.
- Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Of course, Asiwaju Tinubu is widely regarded as the man to beat in the APC presidential primary. However, a power block in APC didn’t want primary but a consensus arrangement with a general notion that the most popular candidate among the delegates may emerge but may not serve as the best acceptable candidates to the populace.
Premium Times reported that one of the president associates said ‘’ after Mr Tinubu decided to declare his presidential bid last October, he went to the Aso Rock Villa to inform the president. “He had told us that if the president was not warm to his ambition, he would drop it but would insist that the president involved him in determining who the candidate would be. But when the president responded by saying, “Oh fine, let’s see who will come out to declare after you have declared,’ Jagaban took it as an endorsement of his ambition by the president,”
- Mr. Rotimi Amaechi
- Governor Kayode Fayemi
- Mr. Ahmad Lawan
- Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba
How Osibanjo Emerges the Consensus Candidate of APC for 2023 Election, Tinubu emerges APC Candidate for 2023 election, Fayemi stepped down as a presidential candidate, Amaechi will flag the banner to represent APC in 2023 elections and so on are nothing but mere imaginations or wishful thinking of different writers and bloggers until the end of elective convention of APC and a winner emerges because, the screening committees confirmed that all the 23 aspirants eminently qualified to be the president of Nigeria. In the meantime, the responsibility to elect the flagbearer of APC lies in the hands of APC and its decision makers.
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Article: How Tinubu Emerged the APC Presidential Candidate of APC for 2023 Election