Intrigues and Politics of APC Presidential Primary

Though the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress has come and gone, with the emergence of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the flag bearer of the party, the non-committal posture of President Muhammadu Buhari will remain an issue in a long time to come, Deji Elumoye writes

The build-up to the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) held last week in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) saw many of the aspirants frequenting Aso Rock, the seat of power. The visits dated back to early this year when scores of the aspirants especially governors made it a duty to visit President Muhammadu Buhari to intimate him about their intention to succeed him come May, 2023.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State was a regular visitor to the Presidential Villa. Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, was also a regular caller at Aso Rock by virtue of his position as leader of the 22 governors of the APC.

On his part, former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was at the seat of government twice to intimate President Buhari of his intention to succeed him come 2023.

In one of such visits in January 2022, Tinubu told journalists after the meeting that the president is a democrat and therefore, had not asked him to stop the pursuit of his life-long ambition 

He was also quick to stress that he has the confidence, vision, and capacity to build on the foundation laid by President Buhari to turn around the fortunes of the country. He also visited the President on March 15, 2022.

In all of these visits, the president was non-committal. He only gave useful advice to all the aspirants, including Tinubu, on the pursuit of their political ambition.

In fact as early as January, this year, President Buhari said he would not disclose his preferred successor for personal reasons.

Besides, he said it would be too early to anoint a successor, adding that if he disclosed his preferred candidate, the person may be eliminated before the 2023 general election.

When asked to name his successor, the president, in a television interview, said he would not disclose the identity of the person. He first said that he did not have anybody in mind.

He said: “I don’t have any favourite for 2023 and if I do, I won’t reveal his identity because if I do, he may be eliminated before the election. I better keep it secret”.

The above position of the president may have opened the floodgate for many presidential aspirants declaring their intention in APC to succeed him.

The aspirants included governors, ministers, serving and former senators. The aspirants apart from informing the president also consulted with other stakeholders in the party. 

At the end of the day, some of the aspirants like former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, went to their respective home states of Akwa Ibom and Anambra to declare their presidential ambition.

Other aspirants like former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his Imo State counterpart, Senator Okorocha, declared their presidential ambition among their supporters in Abuja.

When it was becoming glaring that the political ambition of some ministers and other public officials may clash with their duties, the president gave the affected ministers a time frame to leave his cabinet.

The federal government thereafter issued a circular directing serving ministers in the cabinet, heads of government agencies, ambassadors and other political appointees of the administration, nursing political ambitions in 2023 to resign from the government.

The circular, dated May 11, 2022 with Ref. No.SGF/OP/l/S.3/Xll/173, was issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha.

In the circular, Mustapha said President Buhari had observed and noted the expression of interest and intention by some members of the Federal Executive Council, Heads of Extra-Ministerial departments, agencies, parastatals of government, ambassadors and other political office holders to contest the upcoming presidential, gubernatorial, National and State Assemblies’ elections.

He said the president had directed that the affected office holders aspiring to run for various offices in the 2023 general election, should tender their resignation on or before Monday, May 16, 2022.

The SGF said for smooth running of the machinery of government and the country’s foreign missions, the affected ministers should hand over to the ministers of state where they exist or to the Permanent Secretary, where there is no Minister of State.

About 10 ministers who were identified as being interested in running for one political office or the other in 2023 met with President Buhari at a valedictory session during which the president wished them well in their future endeavours. The valedictory session had hardly ended when one of the ministers that attended the farewell meeting with the President in person of the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, came up with a letter saying he was no longer pursuing his presidential ambition and would prefer to remain as a minister. 

He added that his withdrawal had been communicated to the President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. 

In the statement he issued, Ngige had stated that “I took this momentous decision firstly in the overall interest of the nation, in order to enable me concentrate on my job, and assist the president and the government, weather the difficult last lap, in the life of the administration and secondly for other family reasons. I have since communicated this decision to the President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. My constituents, political associates and well-wishers across the country are by this statement informed of this latest decision, which also has the blessing and support of the overwhelming majority, hence supersedes any other interest, personal or otherwise.”

At the end of the day, only six ministers left to pursue their political ambition while four others retained their portfolio.

With the exit of the ministers, the president promised to replace them immediately but he has not done that three weeks after the former ministers resigned.

In the last three weeks, President Buhari engaged critical stakeholders of the APC, including the party chairman, governors and National Assembly leadership on the need to produce a credible presidential candidate for the party.

At one of such meetings with the APC governors under the aegis of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), the President specifically told the 22 governors to support his bid to pick his successor. 

According to him: “Our objective must be the victory of our party and our choice of candidate must be someone who would give the Nigerian masses a sense of victory and confidence even before the elections.”

President Buhari had stressed that he would want to pick his successor and needed the governors to support him to do so.

His words: “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”.

At the end, to the consternation and embarrassment of many, the move by the president to handpick his successor met a brick-wall as he could not do anything about it.

Even the attempt for Adamu to endorse Lawan on behalf of the president failed as the presidency quickly distanced itself from the move.

This made the party to finally settle for an open contest with all aspirants going for election, which eventually produced Tinubu as APC presidential flagbearer in the 2023 poll.

Tinubu who defeated former Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, among other aspirants, had since swung into action meeting with party leaders and elders of the party on the way forward and in preparation for the campaign ahead of the presidential election in February, 2023.

Last Thursday, the APC presidential flagbearer met separately with President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo and National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu. They all pledged to work assiduously towards the success of Tinubu at the polls next year. It appears the ruling party is ready to move on and put the past differences behind them. Time will tell how this works out as the party prepares to sell its presidential candidate to the Nigerian voters later in the year.