By Danlami Nmodu
So far the top contenders for the All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential ticket are busy trying to convince party members and Nigerians that they are ready to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari.
It is an open secret that Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN and former Governor of Lagos State Bola Tinubu are viewed as top contenders.Or so their supporters think.
However an insider’s reaction to one of Newsdiaryonline‘s recent stories came with some elements of shock, indicating that permutations are still going on and anyone claiming to be a frontrunner now, is a pretender to to the throne.
According the insider, former President Goodluck Jonathan should not be ruled out yet.”Buhari is still very much enamoured of Jonathan”, he claimed. Also, it was revealed that the chances of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, still remain bright, according to some Presidency sources.
In the same vein, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu is also viewed as one of APC’s possible flagbearers as well.The list can be confusing but nothing seems cast in stone yet.
According one highly informed insider who spoke after Osinbajo’s declaration, the top contenders include Jonathan, Amaechi, Emefiele and possible Ogbonnaya Onu as well.
Why not Osinbajo for sure yet, since he is Buhari’s loyal deputy? Newsdiaryonline was told that only President Buhari and Osinbajo can explain what is happening between them.It is possible, Buhari asked Osinbajo to declare.But there are no clear signs yet that the VP is the sure favourite.His supporters think he stands a better chance, moving forward though.
This revelations came on the heels of a story by Newsdiaryonline that Osinbajo’s declaration may be a sign of a shift in Buhari’s thinking of who to support.It was reported
This newspaper had reported for more than two years that there was a plot by some politicians to drag former President Jonathan into the race possibly on the platform of APC.
It is however not clear yet why Jonathan has not decamped to APC, a first step towards the consummation of the alleged plot to drag him into the APC. Newsdiaryonline has learnt that the delay may be due to the fact that Jonathan has not received any “clear signal or directive” from Buhari to join the race.”You know it will be a monumental disgrace for Jonathan to join the race and lose out,” one of our Reporters was told.
Some Insider’s believe Buhari may have learnt a lesson from the leakage of his recent APC Chairmanship plan.”His endorsement of Abdullahi Adamu was leaked and the pressure became to heavy on the president. Maybe this time around he wants to keep his card close to his heart till the last minute. Maybe..,”a close watcher said
It must be noted that there are those who have described the Jonathan -to join- APC speculation as untrue.
Newsdiaryonline reports that there have been fears within the party that just like it happened during the choice of APC National Chairman, the selection of the party’s flagbearer may come down to a consensus arrangement. And President Muhammadu Buhari choice may be the game-changer.
One party member however furiously said consensus mode for APC presidential ticket may be a recipe for crisis.At the chairmanship level, it is understandable, but it may be difficult at Presidential ticket level, the politician said, arguing, “I don’t see Bola Tinubu (another top contender) agreeing to step down for any other person”.
Even more, there is anxiety in the party over President Buhari’s choice.The president has been reported to be encouraging those who have asked him, to go ahead and declare- Some kind of dribbling runs.The worry is that he has not made his own choice known yet.
APC is set to meet next week with the Presidential primaries part of the agenda.Maybe things will become clearer afterwards.
The key questions remain: Will Buhari allow democratic primaries? Or will he endorse on Dark Horse? What is the position of APC Governors? Can Tinubu spring a surprise? Is Osinbajo the heir-apparent? How far can Amaechi and others go?
Furthermore does Buhari have a secret candidate? Is Jonathan truly still in the race or is the APC gambit over for him?
Who succeeds Buhari? Only time will tell.
