₦airaland Forum

In the most audacious attempt at monetizing the country’s democracy, the All Progressives Congress, APC, last week, fixed the price for its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at N100 million.

The development practically fenced off the aspiration of many political actors.

Also affected were the young who do not have the grace of having been born to any of the political tycoons who have steered the nation these past years.

However, it was no barrier to political godfathers themselves. What was supposed to be a disincentive has rather lured many more political actors into the fray. Indeed, the APC forms market may end up becoming the most profitable economic venture of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

So profitable has it been that a whopping $75,000 belonging to an unknown political trader allegedly disappeared from the national secretariat sometime last week.

Among those who showed interest in the APC presidential ticket after the N100 million forms were announced was Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.

After indicating his interest and purchasing the forms, he declared that he would not mind stepping down once President Muhammadu Buhari and the party urge him to so do. Another person who has shown interest is Senator Ibikunle Amosun who has, in the past, been labelled Buhari’s closest confidant from the South-West.

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is also expected to formally declare after the sallah holidays. He had, in the past, been dubbed as the candidate of the governors. Though he has the majority of the governors behind him, he has, however, lost the momentum that he had months ago.

Senator Ken Nnamani, at the weekend, also formally declared. He added to the number from the South-East which includes Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Rochas Okorocha and Mr Emeka Nwajiuba. An attempt by Mr Rotimi Amaechi to incline himself towards the South-East has been firmly rebuffed as he is now left to wear the South-South toga. The prospects of Timipire Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, remain in unchartered waters.

Multiplication of Aspirants and Tinubu

However, the large number of aspirants has not in any way removed the position of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the man to beat in the contest. For a man who declared the presidency as his life ambition, and with the machine available to him, it is no surprise, from outside, that the permutations on him remain almost unassailable.

For those in the camp of the former Lagos governor, it would be tempting to believe that the emergence of folks like Ayade, Nnamani and maybe Amosun could be seen as little bother.

After all, associates of the Jagaban could assure themselves that these recent day entrants do not have the political structure to rely on. Indeed, they may even believe that the increased number would help add verve to a game that they expect Tinubu to win.

Meanwhile, sources have now revealed that any such optimism in the camp of Tinubu would be foolhardy as the deluge of aspirants is all part of the game to checkmate the National Leader.

After insisting on expressing his democratic right despite the body language of the system in Abuja that he should withdraw, the plan is to now use Tinubu’s own medicine against him.

In the first place, Tinubu is about to be relegated to the second place in the South-West with the possible emergence of Fayemi on Tuesday or Wednesday. With Ogun State now firmly in Osinbajo’s hands, Lagos firmly in Asiwaju’s grip, the remaining states apparently still open are Ekiti, Ondo and Osun.

Ekiti and Ondo are likely to go together for Fayemi while Osun, which ordinarily had been in the hands of Asiwaju, has a new power player in the person of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the National Secretary of the APC.

Given insinuations at the last National Convention where it was alleged that the Asiwaju Camp did not back Omisore’s bid for National Secretary until the last minute, the prospect of a hit back is not impossible.

As one top APC member asked, how will Omisore forsake Fayemi who pushed for his nomination to support Tinubu?

Now, it is against the background of the deluge of aspirants that the party would impress it on all aspirants to come out with a consensus.

Nigerians would remember how Buhari insisted on the insertion of the consensus option while the Electoral Act was in the making and how Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila (a Tinubu ally) appeared to stonewall.

Somehow, whoever that consensus candidate is, would definitely not be Tinubu fitting in with the plot against the 2023 aspiration of the APC National Leader.

Tinubu, expectedly, would reject if the consensus candidate does not happen to be him. It is against that backdrop that all the other aspirants would be asked, in the interest of party unity, to step down, just as aspirants for various offices were made to step down during the National Convention. Indicative of this projection, Ayade has already showed his willingness to step down even before being asked.

At the end, it would likely leave two aspirants standing: the consensus candidate and Tinubu. It would now boil down to a straight battle in most probably a direct primary.

Willy-nilly, readers would remember the direct primary that was used against Akinwunmi Ambode when he was seeking re-election in 2015 in Lagos. Remodeling that at the national level, writing the result and announcing it while voters are still at the polls would not be difficult! That would indeed be the climax of the plot against the 2023 life ambition of Tinubu.

techWriter5:
I disagree!!!

The heading is boring with Buhari's name, unfortunately. Try to study threads with Buhari's name and see the engagement of Nairalanders.

Tinubu's thread are always hot because the man has paid pro-Tinubu's, and committed anti-Tinubu's; who fill up the front page of the thread quicker. Though, you have some point about the bais.

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday, said the state would support Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s presidential ambition to enable him to continue with some of the laudable projects of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Abiodun disclosed this when he and other members of the State Executive Council accompanied Osinbajo to the palaces of some prominent traditional rulers in the state in continuation of the Vice President’s campaign ahead of the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress.

Abiodun said Osinbajo, in the last seven years, had contributed to the many successes recorded by the Federal Government, noting that “he is eminently qualified to lead the country.”

He said, “The Vice President’s presence here is homecoming. We are pleased with his decision to run for the office of the President. He is competent and committed to lead the country in a higher capacity.

“Your steadfastness, integrity and character are all well known. You are serving this country and the President meritoriously for the last seven years as the vice president. We have no doubt that you will do well as the President and we will support you.”

Speaking on the ambition of the Vice President, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, attested to the competence of Osinbajo, saying, “the vice president has paid his dues and is eminently qualified to succeed as President.

“I want to pray that you will come back to this Palace as a President and Nigeria will gain tremendously under your watch.”


Osinbajo, on his part, expressed optimism that he would emerge victorious.

The Vice President boasted of winning the election when he paid a visit to the palace of Oba Gbadebo.

This is just as he said his administration would bring peace, unity and development to the country.

He had earlier visited the Akarigbo and paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Adewale Ajayi, in his palace in Sagamu.

He sought the support and blessings of the traditional rulers, promising that he would serve with humility when elected President.

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Osibanjo said he was not in the state to campaign, but to inform his people of his intention to run.

He said he had consulted widely, including with Buhari, before he joined the race.

He said “I want to say that Kabiyesi is a good man of fortune. Every time I have visited Kabiyesi, after it, I always become victorious. That is to say that it is a good one.

“Every time that I have visited him, at least in this political journey, it has always become victorious.

“I am always happy when I am coming to see Kabiyesi because I know that the outcome will be victory.”

Osinbajo said he had served the country with loyalty.

He added, “The Vice President’s position is an opportunity to serve and I have served with utmost loyalty. I put everything into my work. I am a candidate who will hit the ground running when I am elected.

“I have the requisite knowledge to do the job and building on what others have put in place. My Presidency will bring peace, unity and development to the country.”

The consultation between former President Goodluck Jonathan and some leaders of the All Progressives Congress for Jonathan to emerge as the presidential candidate has been rejected by support groups working for some presidential aspirants of the party.

Groups loyal to presidential aspirants of the party, including the APC National leader and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; in separate interviews with The PUNCH, dismissed the consensus plot for the ex-President.

It was also gathered that those who were behind the plot and some members of the National Working Committee of the party feared that it might not sail through.


It was learnt that although the plan had been announced, opposition to it was already swelling among members.

Besides Tinubu, Osinbajo, other members of the party in the presidential race include the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.

The PUNCH had reported on Saturday that Jonathan had informed some APC leaders that he would only join the presidential race if he was directly endorsed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The information was revealed to The PUNCH shortly after Jonathan’s posters flooded the national secretariat of the APC and some youth groups stormed Jonathan’s office in the Maitama area of Abuja, calling on him to join the Presidential race.

In his response, the former President had told protesters that he could not say for sure if he would declare or not but only advised his supporters to “watch out.”

The PUNCH subsequently learnt from top sources in the APC that there was a plan by some leaders in the APC and some elements in the Presidency to accede to Jonathan’s request.

A member of the APC National Executive Committee, who confided in one of our correspondents, said all presidential aspirants were aware of the plan to bring Jonathan in as the consensus candidate.


According to him, members of the Presidency cabal who were working on the plan were confused as they did not know if it would succeed.

He stated that they started working on the plan more than a year ago but when they ran into some challenges, they tried to adopt the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

The NEC member added that when they realised that Emefiele’s option might not work, they went back to the Jonathan arrangement.

The party chieftain stated, “I can tell you they are facing a tough task as far as Jonathan is concerned. Although from his body language, one can see that Jonathan is interested. However, his backers in the APC are confused about how to launder the public image of Jonathan whom they painted incompetent and clueless in 2015.

“Another tough task the party may face is how it will convince other aspirants like Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Umahi and Bello to step down. Many members are not happy with the plot and are ready to shoot it down.”

When contacted for the party’s reaction, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, neither replied to a text message sent to his mobile phone nor responded to calls made by one of our correspondents.

The PUNCH learnt that the presidential aspirants were waiting for Jonathan’s backers to unveil their plan, which they vowed to resist.

Osinbajo group rejects Jonathan, optimistic VP will emerge consensus candidate

The Leader, Osinbajo Grassroots Organisation, Ekiti State, Femi Adeleye, said on Sunday that the party could not give Jonathan a waiver to contest the presidential election as a consensus candidate when there were competent and capable aspirants already.

Adeleye who said the presidential aspirants were already preparing for an indirect primary, however, said the party would adopt Osinbajo in case it considered a consensus arrangement.

He stated, “Even at that, if all the contestants agree within themselves and decide to step down for one of them, I am very comfortable that our principal, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will be the one they will step down for. I am very comfortable with that.

“If some people are rooting for Jonathan, the party must accept him first. And for him to contest, he must have spent a year in the party and our primary will hold in the one month’s time. It will be very difficult for the party to say they want to give him a waiver and pick him as consensus candidate when there are competent hands already on the ground.”

Aspirants looking for consensus are lazy, nobody will impose candidate – Tinubu campaign group

Also in a chat with The PUNCH, the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 known as SWAGA 2023, said that there was no possibility of a consensus presidential candidate in the upcoming primary election.

The Chairman of SWAGA 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, explained this to The PUNCH during a telephone interview on Sunday, adding that the presidential aspirants would await the results of the primaries.

He said, “The candidates for the presidential election await the primaries and the people will have to earn it. Don’t forget that under the new electoral law, you can only have consensus when all the candidates or aspirants have agreed in writing and I don’t see that happening. Those who are looking for consensus are the lazy ones who have not done any work.

“We are working and hoping to have free and fair primaries which I know that by the grace of the almighty God, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will easily win. So, the issue of consensus candidacy should be forgotten completely. Nobody will impose the president on Nigeria, the party members will choose their candidates by themselves at the convention and the Nigerian people will be given the opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice in February next year.”

Adeyeye said the Presidential primary would not be like the national convention of March 26 because the primary is more complicated as it would involve a wider electorate.

The leader of the Grassroot Network for Asiwaju Tinubu group, Mr Abiodun Mafe, also told The PUNCH that Jonathan was not known to be a member of the APC hence he could not be the presidential candidate of the party.

“Jonathan has never been a member of the APC, so how will it be possible for anyone to say that he will be made a consensus candidate? Until he now proves to the whole world that he is a card-carrying member of the APC, it can’t be. Even at that, there is a process. Constitutionally, anybody who is a member of the APC has the right to contest but as far as I am concerned Jonathan is not a part,” Mafe stated.

Don’t go wrong, toe the part of law, Ajulo advises APC

On his part, the Coordinator, Progressive Lawyers For Osinbajo, Dr Kayode Ajulo, in an interview with The PUNCH, said to entertain the idea of Jonathan contesting was trying to violate the provision of the constitution.

He stated, “The advice I would give is that everything that should be done in accordance with the law. And as it is today, the extant Electoral Act, which is the electoral law in Nigeria, recognises the direct election, indirect election and the consensus. And if that one is sanctioned and allowed by the law, then that would be the way to go, but anything done beyond it is unconstitutional.

“I will advise the APC to continue to toe the line of law because when you do that you cannot go wrong. But in a situation where you want to do what is convenient and you want to toe the law of men, not the law as given and signed – the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, then things will go wrong.

Yahaya Bello will defeat Jonathan if he joins the presidential race – Campaign Council

But the spokesman for the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Council, Yemi Kolapo, in an interview with The PUNCH, said the Kogi State Governor would defeat Jonathan if he joined the APC presidential race.

She said, “What I will say is that whether Jonathan declares or not, whether he joins APC or not is not a threat. Yahaya Bello will get the ticket. Everybody has the right to vie for any position.

“So, whether he (Jonathan) wants to do that in APC or his PDP, it is his choice. That will not deter anybody. No matter what they do, no matter the number of people who come into the race at this time, Yahaya Bello will be on the ballot.”

Attempts to get a response from Jonathan’s Spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, proved abortive as he did not respond to a text message on Sunday.

Nigeria needs President who can work – Obi

Meanwhile, one of the presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party and

former governor of Anambra State, Dr Peter Obi, has said Nigerians should not allow the APC government to continue.

He also said the consensus arrangement being promulgated by some aspirants was not what Nigeria needed, saying the country needed someone that would work to rescue the country to get out of its challenges, as the next president.

Obi stated this at meeting with the chieftains of the PDP in Ondo State, at the party secretariat in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Sunday, ahead of the forthcoming primary of the party .

He said, “The children can no longer eat, we are at high level of misery, we cannot allow them to continue.

“If nothing is done on Nigeria’s problem, it would consume all of us. It will consume our children too.

“We must not talk about the consensus now, we must talk about who will work. Nigerians want consensus that will solve the Nigerian problem.

“We want someone that will take Nigeria from consumption to production level. we must elect somebody that can do the work. We are not talking about who will become the next president of Nigeria but who will start working for this country called Nigeria.”

N100m: Falana slams APC as party begins sale of forms tomorrow

In a related development, Human rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday slammed the APC for pegging the fees of its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at N100m.

He argued that by asking the youth to pay N60m (being 40 per cent discount of the said N100m) the APC has made a mockery of the Not Too Young to Run Act enacted by the Federal Government under its control.

Citing several judicial precedents, Falana noted that the political parties had flouted Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which empowers every citizen to participate freely in the government of his or her country.

He, therefore, proposed that the APC and PDP should withdraw the “outrageous fees” and charge administrative fees of not more than N10,000 per aspirant.

In a statement he signed on Sunday titled, ‘Illegality of outrageous nomination fees,’ the activist noted that the apparent endorsement of the controversial nomination fees by Buhari reeks of hypocrisy because, in 2014, he had told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27.5m to purchase his nomination form.

Falana stated, “The APC ought to have realised that by restricting politics to the affairs of fat cats, it has violated Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which states that ‘every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law.’

“The apparent endorsement of the controversial nomination fees by President Buhari smacks of hypocrisy because, in 2014, he had told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27.5m to buy his nomination form.”

The senior advocate noted Section 87 of the Electoral Act which provides for the nomination of candidates by political parties had not prescribed that aspirants shall pay any fee.

“In this circumstance, political parties may only be permitted by law to charge administrative fees,” he said.

In a related development, The PUNCH learnt on Sunday that the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms of the APC scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2022, will now kick off on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. The exercise was earlier called off due to some logistical bottlenecks.

Consequently, nomination forms for aspirants vying for the House of Assembly would be sold at the various state secretariats of the party nationwide while forms for other positions such as the House of Representatives, Senate, governorship and Presidency would be sold at the national secretariat, Abuja.

MikoB:
What do you stand to gain, by doing that kid? so france or any white man's land is so special to you that you can think someone will be lying he is living there , for your own information I don't just live in france I am a French to make you look stupid I will snap my hand holding the back of my French Id card because I don't want to review my identity in by showing the front, even the electoral card I posted is the back I showed.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), will in May reveal his choice among those aiming to be his successor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, a presidential source has revealed to Sunday Punch.

According to the source, the President is critically studying the aspirants, their attitudes, actions, backgrounds and others before either making his pronouncement on the issue or directing his trusted aides on whom to queue behind among them.

Some of the aspirants, who have made their intentions known to run for the presidency are Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; his Ebonyi State counterpart, David Umahi; a former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Kalu; and an ex-governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha.

They have openly declared their interest to succeed the President, whose second term ends on May 29, 2023.

Other rumoured to have presidential ambition in the party but have yet to declare their intentions include the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

Buhari had expressed fear that his favourite presidential candidate might be “eliminated” if he revealed the identity.

He said this during an exclusive interview with Channels Television in January, while noting that he had no special interest in the 2023 presidential election.

“It is not my problem,” he replied when asked about the next presidential election.

He stated, “I am not interested. I believe that whoever wins the poll should be sworn in as the next leader of Nigeria.

“All important things have been documented. No one should ask me to appear before the court to give evidence on any issue (public funds). All important things are already on record. I am sure about that.”

When asked about his preferred successor, the President replied, “I won’t tell you my favourite for 2023; he may be eliminated if I mention him. I better keep it a secret.”

The ruling party has fixed May 30 and 31 for its presidential primary election.

The APC, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, dated April 6, notified the electoral body of the dates and schedule of its primaries for the nomination of candidates for the 2023 general elections.

The letter was signed by the party’s National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

“This serves as a formal notification, pursuant to the provisions of Section 85 of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended. Kindly arrange for your officials to monitor the exercise accordingly. While hoping to receive your cooperation, please accept the assurances of my highest esteem,” the letter read in part.

However, the Presidency source said there was no way Buhari would allow all the APC presidential aspirants to go into the race without having an input.

He said, “You saw how he handled the race for the chairmanship of the party? Was it rancorous? No, it was not. The President knows what to do at the right time. The man, who is the national chairman of the party today, was not even in the race in the beginning. And he said so when he assumed office. He said he was never interested about a month before the election.

“The President knows the characters of those in the race. He knows their antecedents and what they can do or how they will behave when they get to power. So, he will never allow the party to go into the primary without giving direction. Have you ever seen an incumbent, who is not interested in who his political party will present as his likely successor? Even the governors are equally doing the same thing at the state level.

“So, I am sure the President will speak next month before the presidential primary. He is a tactician. He knows how to handle such a delicate matter.”

BlazinGlory40:
On the contrary, I don’t think it’s amaechi either. Infact none of the trio of tinubu, Osinbajo and amaechi might get the ticket. Nigerian politics is very tricky. The more you look the less you see

Zikojukwu:
Those trying to remove Osibanjo from the woeful failure of this administration are not only dishonest but dangerously irresponsible. If we want to save Nigeria, we must push cluelessness into the gutter and pick honest and clear-headed people. Osibanjo has no ground, no achievement to compaign for except his vote-buying fraud called trader money. Tell me otherwise. He and Buhari have brought untold hardship and avoidable deaths, he should be begging Nigerians for forgiveness not votes.

maestroferddi:
You guys are now running amok grasping at everything no matter how ridiculous to keep fading hopes alive.

First it was about Tinubu but when it is clear that he stands zero chance, now we no hear about Osinbanjo ...

If only you guys know how the northern powerbrokers operate...

seunmsg:
Tomorrow, the real anointed candidate will declare and all presidential aides can’t hide their excitement. Media aide to the president, Bashir Ahmad tweeted about it earlier today. It will be massive.

Whatever the case is, we insist on a free, fair and credible primary election. Osinbajo is my first choice but he should win the ticket of the party by popular acceptance of party members and not through any undemocratic imposition.

Best of luck Mr. Vice President. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will make a good president. For me, it’s all about having a strong, competent and patriotic southerner who can take the needed tough decisions to move the county forward in 2023.

Cc: lalasticlala Mynd44

SledgeHammerer:
Is he going to consult with governors loyal to Tinubu? Sanwo olu, Oyetola, uzodinma,dapo abiodun.

He was only able to call 5 from 23? Nahhhhhh