A new crisis is emerging in Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 presidential election over Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari as the country’s next leader.
Despite the fact that Tinubu has yet to formally declare his candidacy for president, he has been holding consultations and meeting important Nigerians to inform and solicit their support.
Tinubu recently paid a visit to Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, an elder statesman, who revealed that the APC national leader informed him of his presidential ambition and begged for his support.
Senator Rufai Hanga, the founder national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and APC chieftain who recently dumped the ruling party, said there is a split among the APC governors on the issue of the party’s presidential flagbearer in an exclusive interview with the Daily Independent in Abuja.
While some governors in the party have settled on one of them as the presidential candidate, with a serving minister in President Buhari’s administration as a running mate, he claims that other governors are rooting for Tinubu, saying that they should rally around him for everything he has done for the party.
“We have around three to four factions, and bringing them together is close to impossible,” he remarked. In the party, there are governors.
In reality, just three days ago, some governors sat and, according to reliable sources, one of them was anointed as presidential candidate. They have chosen one of the serving ministers as his running companion. They are willing to go all-in and are adamant that there will be no turning back.
“Other governors aren’t interested in hearing all of that. All of these governors are on Asiwaju Tinubu’s side. These people believe that despite everything Asiwaju has done for the party, he has been badly mistreated. They’re warning their fellow governors not to bite the hand that feeds them. As a result, there is currently a schism among APC governors over the subject of 2023.”
Hanga, who claimed the APC is technically non-existent, added that the party has no chance of surviving an implosion, especially given the current difficulties in the country.
