Tinubu Consults Ahead of Presidential Campaign

As campaign for the 2023 poll kicks off on September 28, 2022, the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is not leaving any stone unturned as his ongoing consultation recently took him to the Abeokuta home of  former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Adedayo Akinwale reports

Going by the timetable and the schedule of activities released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the campaign by political parties to canvass for votes from the about 95 million electorate will officially commence on September 28, 2022.

This will however be the first time that political parties will embark on a five-month campaign train following the signing of the Electoral Act 2022 into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

18 registered political parties will slug it out in the 2023 elections. They include Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), African Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Congress (APC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Others are Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressive Party (YPP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Boot Party (BT).

 Out of the 18 registered political parties, four will be the strong contenders for the presidential election and they are: the  PDP which has former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate; the ruling  APC has former Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as its standard bearer; former Governor of Kano state, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso will be flying the flag of   NNPP and the former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi is contesting on the platform of  LP.

Although the campaign window is yet to open, major contenders of the presidential election have been criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country trying to sell their candidacy.

THISDAY checks revealed that following the emergence of Tinubu, the ruling APC was thrown into confusion in the wake of the backlash and criticism that trailed the all Muslim ticket of the party from concerned Nigerians and also the Christian community.

Tinubu, a Muslim from the South-west decided to rock the boat when he chose former Governor of Borno state, Senator Kashim Shettima, as his running mate, another Muslim from the North. The decision of the party led to the defection of some members of the party, while APC christian leaders especially from the north vowed to work against the party over its decision to float a one faith ticket.

To appease the christian leaders within the APC, as well as the christian community, the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong was appointed as the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council, while President Muhammadu Buhari was appointed as the chairman.

The Presidential candidate of the party was made the Deputy Chairman (1), while the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu was appointed Deputy Chairman (2).  Also, the governor of Kebbi State  and Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Atiku Bagudu and Senator Godswill Akpabio were appointed as Vice Chairmen.

Others appointed as Vice Chairmen are APC Vice Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima and the only female presidential aspirant of the party during the June 2022 special national convention, Uju Kennedy.

The former National Chairman of the party,  Comrade Adams Oshiomole was appointed Deputy Director-General (Operations), Hadiza Bala Usman was appointed Deputy Director-General, (Admin), Hon James Faleke (Secretary); while Christopher Takar was appointed Deputy Secretary.

Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State was appointed Regional Coordinating Chairman (North), while Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi would be the  Coordinator for the South.

The campaign council also has  14 directorates in the campaign council, while the  Zonal Campaign Coordinators for the six geo-political zones would be headed by the governors.

Moreso, the Governor of  Niger State, Abubakar Bello would serve as Coordinator For North Central; Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya (North-east); the Governor of Zamfara Governor state, Bello Matawale (North-west); Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade (South-south); and Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodinma (South-east).

As part of his ongoing consultation, Tinubu last week met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to intimate him about his ambition. For years, Obasanjo and Tinubu have been political rivals and have always been at each other’s throat.

Reacting to the visit, former National Vice Chairman (South) of the PDP, Chief Bode George, was of the view that Obasanjo would not mince words in telling the truth to Tinubu on the 2023 election.

Speaking on national television, George said: “Whatever Bola (Tinubu) is looking for in Baba’s house I have no idea, but I can tell that when the truth is to be told, Baba will not mince his words to tell him. As a leader and icon, he must allow all kinds of characters to pay a visit to him, to listen to his words of wisdom and his sense of reasoning. I don’t have  qualms about that. I wish him (Tinubu) well on his journey.”

On his part, former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, while also speaking on national television said Tinubu consulted Obasanjo to consolidate Southwest’s votes to win the presidential election, adding that the former president should reciprocate the gesture by supporting him (Tinubu).

According to him, “he is consulting and he has gone to meet the man that many of us considered to be the father of the nation. He has gone to meet a Yoruba elder, he’s gone to consolidate his base. He’s gone to explain his mission to him and I sincerely hope that our former president will reciprocate this gesture by supporting him. We need a solid base in this coming election”.

When asked  to react to statements made by Tinubu in the past, referring to Obasanjo as “the greatest election rigger, whose time has expired,” Fani-Kayode said: “Obasanjo has said worst things about Tinubu both in his books and also on television. We say these things sometimes and that does not mean we should be enemies forever.

“Whatever anybody says at any point in time, they reserve the right to retrace their steps and say something else based on conviction. I don’t think Tinubu will say the same thing again about former president Obasanjo, otherwise, he won’t be where he is today (last week’s visitation)”.

It is expected that as political parties roll out their campaign drums next month, real politicking, dirty tricks, fake news and character assassination will take the centre stage as supporters of the political gladiators would roll up their sleeves to demarket their opponents as the 2023 election approaches.

Political observers believe that while the decision of the main opposition party, the PDP to pick its candidate from the North would be its undoing, considering the fact that President Buhari is also from the North, the seemingly failure of the APC-led government in the areas of security, economy, extremely high inflation rate, high level of poverty, among others, would constitute a major impediment to the victory of Tinubu.

They suggested that while Obi may not have structure, he might be the greatest beneficiary of the PDP’s blunder by picking its candidate from the North and the APC-led government’s disaster that has returned Nigeria back to the 1980s if his social media support can translate to real votes at the end of the day.

As it is, February is too far to predict the would-be winner of the 2023 presidential election. Only time will