Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress may queue behind Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) as the preferred presidential candidate of the party for the 2015 election, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
The governors are suspecting that those asking the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to pick the presidential form are enemies of the party.
Two of the governors, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday and Saturday respectively, said they would work for Buhari.
One of them, who called our correspondent on Friday evening, said there was no way he and his colleagues would support Tambuwal.
He said he and his colleagues were not worried with Tambuwal’s picking of the party’s presidential form.
He said, “We are not worried with his picking presidential form. He’s not going far.
“We expected him to focus on him becoming the governor of Sokoto State. He’s a good product anyway, but he’s not ripe for Presidency now. He can’t defeat President Goodluck Jonathan.”
Another governor, who’s from the North, said Tambuwal’s entrance could be a ploy by pro-Jonathan sympathisers within the party who he said, could be looking for a weak candidate that the president could easily over-run.
He said he and some leaders within the party were informed the national leadership of the party and the Presidency were scared of a Buhari challenge.
He said this could be the main reason the pro-Jonathan people within the party could have sold a dummy to Tambuwal, deceiving him that he’s young and would be liked by all.
He said, “We know what’s going on. We are not being deceived. Those saying Tambuwal is young and vibrant are saying the truth, but his time hasn’t come. He doesn’t have the capacity to command the followership in the north and the entire country.
“This is not the time to allow anyone to sell any dummy to the party. It is a national party and not a regional party anymore.
“If there is anyone who think he can betray us at this stage, the person must think twice. We like Tambuwal, but he can’t be our candidate for now.”
Meanwhile, the presidential aspiration of Tambuwal has worsened the problems being faced by the All Progressives Congress in choosing its presidential candidate.
Sunday PUNCH learnt in Abuja, on Friday, that the Speaker’s entry had altered earlier projections of a possible deal on a consensus candidate.
It was gathered that the leadership of the APC had reasoned that choosing a consensus candidate would save the party from rancour arising from a presidential primaries.
Some nursed fears that the primary might not produce the desired results for the party.
A member of the party’s National Working Committee, who spoke in confidence with SUNDAY PUNCH, said, “We know that primaries may not produce a candidate that will be acceptable nationwide. That is why we would have preferred a consensus, but from the look of things, the presidential primary is unavoidable.”
The party’s National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, had recently stated that the leadership of the party would gladly welcome the emergence of a consensus candidate for the party in the 2015 election.
“I will give you one clear assurance; if there is a consensus among the aspirants, we as a party will welcome it completely. But if there is no consensus, we are going to give you the cleanest, most transparent primary,” he said.
Also, while receiving Atiku Abubakar last week in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, appealed to the APC presidential aspirants to agree on a consensus candidate.
The northern caucus of the party had, on Tuesday, met as part of efforts to choose a consensus candidate.
An ally of one of the leading aspirants, who pleaded anonymity, described Tambuwal’s entry as “a crude joke.”
The source pleaded anonymity because his principal forbade him from joining issues with any other campaign group.
He accused an unnamed leader of the party as not having outgrown the politics of “selfish interest for the unfolding scenario.”
The source said, “It is sad that some of our so-called party leaders do not have the capacity to sacrifice personal interest for the greater good.
“What you are seeing is the personal interest of this individual, who wants to remain relevant at all costs, especially after the Muslim/Muslim ticket kite failed to fly.”
Similarly, a member of another campaign organisation, who also pleaded anonymity, said, “What we are facing now is a make-or-mar situation.
“Let us not be deceived; if the primary falls short of the standard of transparency, we may very well be saying goodbye to a party which held so much promise, but failed to deliver.”
Reacting to the development, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed, said the party did not zone the presidency to a particular part of the country.
This, he said, made it possible for all interested members of the party to step out and obtain the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms.
“Look at the calibre of the people that are coming into our party: former heads of state, former vice-presidents, speaker, governors, and former ministers, unlike theirs when they printed only one form.”
Commenting on the Speaker’s entry into the race, a leading member of the Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari Campaign, Osita Okechukwu, described Tambuwal’s entry into the race as a healthy development.
He told one of our correspondents that the more the presidential aspirants, or any aspirant to the office of governor, National or State House of Assembly joining the party, the better for it.
He said, “Tambuwal is, therefore, highly welcome into the presidential race. This is why the constitution of our party was amended penultimate week, to accommodate, in less than one hour, any person who joins the APC.”
On Tambuwal’s chances, he said “one cannot hazard a guess, as Tambuwal, unlike Buhari or Atiku, had never contested nationwide election. He only contested in a federal constituency and his popularity had never been tested in Kano, Akure or Enugu.
“All one knows is that his entry will neither diminish nor cut off the celestial bond between Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the masses and the middle class of our dear country.”
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