The dust raised by the just concluded national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to settle, but the party is set for another showdown: the camps of General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar may clash over the party’s presidential ticket.
Although only the posters of Atiku and those of the founder of LEADERSHIP Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah, were sighted during the party’s maiden convention, sources say that a surprise candidate stands a very good chance of clinching the presidential ticket.
Because of the intense tussle for the ticket among known leaders of the party and the mutual distrust such is breeding, said a source, the different interested groups within the party may settle for a fresh face that would be acceptable to all.
This, the source added, may be the final solution so that the unity of the party may be conserved and enhanced.
“The ambitions of our leaders such as General Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu, Governor Kwankwaso and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar are threatening the unity of the APC as we have witnessed during the convention, but some people are seriously considering searching for a dark horse like Sam Nda-Isaiah who would be acceptable to all the divides that make up the country,” the source stated. “That was the strategy adopted by the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) when it adopted Alhaji Shehu Shagari as its presidential candidate at the expense of the like of Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Alhaji Maitama Sule and Alhaji Abubakar Saraki, which gave them victory over the celebrated politicians such as Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Aminu Kano and Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri.”
With some in the APC still smarting from the outcome of the convention, not a few pundits agree that it is no longer at ease for the party rated as the biggest threat ever to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999.
Although some of its chieftains are still aggrieved over the convention which seemed to have been tilted in favour of one of the five main groups that make up the party, the new leadership seems to have made up its mind to leave that behind and face the 2015 presidential election primaries.
Those who are not happy with the outcome of the convention include Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Sam Jaja, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and Governor Rotimi Amaechi who have all expressed reservations publicly. This has further buttressed the fact that a dark horse may benefit from the outcome of the convention.
It was Chief John Odigie Oyegun who was declared the consensus candidate and eventually declared the winner at the expense of former governor of Bayelsa State Timpreye Sylva and Ikimi.
Oyegun was sponsored by the duo of Buhari and Tinubu; Sylva was backed by most of the APC governors, while Ikimi had the support of Atiku.
Speaking with our correspondent, another informed party source disclosed that the new leadership of the party is trying to heal the wounds of the convention before that of the presidential primaries comes in.
He said: “It is unfortunate that some of our founding leaders are still angry over our last convention. People like Chief Ikimi, Sheriff and Governor Amaechi have even publicly criticised the outcome. This is not good enough because there is internal mechanism to address whatever problems anyone could be having.
“You heard Oyegun saying that a good member of the party would not go to the media and the court to seek redress. Whatever the new leadership could do to appease them would be done as we approach the 2015 presidential primaries.”
Speaking further, he explained that the crises that characterized the convention had to do with the presidential poll, especially over who would be the APC candidate among the leading aspirants.
He continued: “APC parades big names in Nigeria who could easily overrun whoever the ruling PDP presents, possibly President Jonathan. All we need is the unity of purpose and we would become the ruling party.
“Those who are interested in the race are General Buhari, Governor Kwankwaso, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, your former chairman Sam Nda-Isaiah, Governor Rochas Okorocha, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and a few others who are yet to come out,” while those interested in being the running mates are Tinubu, Okorocha, Governor Amaechi, Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Kayode Fayemi. “Again, who among them could you ask to step down and he would do so willingly? We have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.
LEADERSHIP checks show that some people who feel threatened with the presence of Atiku in the party are planning to use his PDP connection to stop him the way they did against Ikimi.
As for Kwankwaso, “Their plan is to outsmart the APC governors who may want to use their machinery to impose him on the party. Since they have the delegates, the plan is to adopt our candidate before the convention as it was done during the last convention; the fear is that this could tear the party apart before the general election.”
The APC governors too are not watching doing nothing, having lost their bid to have Sylva as the chairman: they are believed to be making use of the national secretary who is their own candidate through the governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam; “he would be their eyes on whatever plot being made against the governors.”
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