His loyalists said that despite the anti-Buhari lobby in
the APC, the general would contest the primary.
We have gathered that the anti-Buhari lobby in APC is
made up of two groups. The first group consists of
senior Northern politicians who want the general to bury
his ambition in order for a younger northerner to
contest the presidential primaries. This group is also said
to be shopping for a guarantee that the general will
support whoever emerges as the presidential candidate
of the party.
The other group consists of members of the party who
feel that the former head of state is not popular in the
South-East, South-South and some parts of North-
Central.
Top officials of the party confided in our correspondent
on Friday that the mega party was worried about
Buhari’s unpopularity in these regions. The officials said
the states were too crucial to be toyed with.
One of the senior members of the party, who pleaded
anonymity, said, “We have realised that it will be a
Herculean task to convince a majority of the electorate
in the South-South, South-East and even some parts of
North-Central to vote for the APC if we field Buhari as
our candidate.
“You will recall in 2011, he did not perform very well in
the South-East, South-South as well as Plateau, Benue
and Kwara in the North-Central. He is not so popular in
those areas. We are looking for a nationally acceptable
candidate. Hence, the move to make him step down.”
Another APC top member who spoke on the condition
of anonymity with our correspondent, said, “We know
that the general is popular among the talakawas
(ordinary people) in the northern part of the country.
“We also know that he is still interested in the race
based on his pronouncements. But we also believe that
he has tried. He needs to allow the younger ones take a
shot at the ticket.
“But if we prevail on him to discard his ambition, will he
be ready to work for whosoever emerges as the party’s
candidate? That is the dilemma we are in now.”
But Buhari’s supporters are insisting that he must be
allowed to take part in the party’s primary, and that he
will support the winner if he doesn’t win.
Former spokesperson for the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin,
said only the members of the APC could determine
Buhari’s fate.
He said, “Some people are afraid of Buhari and that is
why they are flying the kite. We know he is going to
contest the primaries and he may be the candidate of
the party.
“We all know that democracy is a game of numbers, if
that is the case, let us wait and see what will happen
during the primary. The general’s popularity has not
waned.
“Those mounting pressure on him not to contest are
those who are afraid of him. They know that he means
well for the country and not for the pulse of a few
people.”
Similarly, the CPC governorship candidate in Enugu State
in 2011, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said if Buhari could pull
12 million votes during the 2011 presidential election
with a “small party like the CPC,” then he could do
better under a bigger party in 2015.
“That is why we, his supporters, are saying that he
should be allowed to contest the primary with other
candidates. Irrespective of his age, he is still strong. He
is not corrupt, he isn’t a religious bigot and he doesn’t
care about where you come from.
“We must also know that GMB is an asset to the party
anyway. He has a “vote bank” through which he could
draw come 2015.
Buhari, 70, has run for the office of the President three
times and, on all the occasions, was defeated by the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party candidates.
In 2003 and 2007, he ran on the platform of the ANPP
and was the presidential candidate of the Congress for
Progressive Change in the 2011 general election.
Source: Punch Nigeria

so what?