North Central governor leads APC governors for him
With a deep breath, Vice Presidential Yemi Osinbajo, after last night’s consultative meeting with about 12 All Progressives Congress (APC) governors announced to mammoth Nigerians that he had heeded their calls to serve as the next president come 2023, a development that automatically reshapes the crowding space of politicians jostling for the coveted seat.
Presidential historians said last night that if the party nomination process, according to the presidential system were to be strictly followed, the vice president who statutorily doubles as No. 2 next to President Muhammadu Buhari as the APC’s national leader, he should be statutorily accorded pre-eminence because of the Doctrine of the Right of First Refusal.
With his dramatic entry into the race as the highest in ranking and protocol in the party and ruling government, Osinbajo’s declaration sounded like a man set to take his political destiny in his hands especially the way and manner he finally bounced into the space already animated by other APC chieftains such as Bola Tinubu, Governor Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Governor Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Senator Rochas Okocha and Rotimi Amaechi all of whom had formally declared their intentions to succeed President Buhari.
His campaign team said to be bursting at the seams already may have a hectic time to cope with the avalanche of support which he has garnered over time in the course of his countrywide trips to commission projects for the Federal Government and many state governors.
His widely-reported Ramadan iftar dinner last night with the governors some of whom he had largely bonded with as statutory chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) across party lines, for seven years, apart from relating on other platforms, was perhaps a fitting point, according to his handlers among the governors led by the governor of a North Central State, to announce his presidential bid having sufficiently cleared with the president whose interest, according to Presidential insiders last night, was described as ‘sufficiently animated’ by the development.
The insiders who declined to be named maintained that having been fiercely loyal, reliable and supportive’’, Osinbajo remained the president’s best if not the only exit strategy considered equally important as entry strategy in the circumstance in the country.
The Vice President, in his brief broadcast to Nigerians aptly captioned, IT IS TIME, he underscored that fact when he said: “For the past seven (7) years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, President Muhammadu Buhari. In these 7 years, while on the train of duty and service, I traversed every part of our country, meeting Nigerians of every cadre, class, tribe and walks of life, both young and old; I MET YOU.
“I’ve stood where you stand and sat where you sit. I know and I understand our hopes, aspirations and fears from a place of relatable proximity; and I believe that in those hopes and aspirations are the seeds for the great Nigeria that we all desire.
“I believe that the very reason why the Almighty God gave me these experiences, these insights, and these opportunities, is that they must be put to the use of our country and its great peoples.
“This is why today, with utmost humility, I formally declare my intention to run for the office of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress.
“I also most solemnly and respectfully seek your support as fellow Nigerians everywhere in this land and the diaspora, as we embark on this great and exciting journey that lies ahead of us”, he said.
NIGERIAN SPOKESMAN’s checks revealed that a huge majority of governors of Northern extraction are daily increasing and convincing their supporters to file behind the vice president to emerge as the party’s candidate.
It was reliably gathered that their support is based on his rising popularity and acceptability arising from how he has consolidated his hold on the governors employing humility, sagacity and respect drawing from his experience of having stayed the course in a delicate position as the nation’s No. 2.
It was also gathered that Osinbajo’s staying power is his affableness and approachability in the vice presidency for almost eight years which many of them believe had been made possible by his persona as a stabilizing force propelled by his unrivalled focus, mental acuity, clarity of vision and undisputable sense of respect to the governors on issues, and above all, his visible and unflinching loyalty to the President.
In fact, many of them are said to have openly canvassed that the same reasons that made him selectable by President Buhari in 2015 were still sellable and defensible over and above those whose names originally featured prominently.
It will be recalled that it was a former Ogun State governor, Senator Ibinkunle Amosun who exploited his warm relationship with President Buhari, to project Osinbajo’s name in the list of three candidates as the running mate when the Muslim-Muslim ticket argument dislodged Tinubu from consideration. In fact, Tinubu gave Osinbajo’s name as No. 3 paving the way for President Buhari to discard Nos 1 and 2, a development analysts believed revealed that the VP was Tinubu after-thought.
Another factor, according to insiders’ reading of the minds of governors rooting for Osinbajo is about the issue of religion considered germane to the emergence of APC’s search for a candidate that can win the presidential election in the South West and entire South.
“This is because of the argument that favours a Christian candidate especially in the heels of a vacating Muslim president from the North after eight years. The cold calculation is that historically, a Muslim president has never emerged from the South of Nigeria.
“The calculation is that a northern Muslim would emerge as vice presidential candidate to Osinbajo as APC’s standard bearer. The party’s winning machine is serious about retaining power and Osinbajo is the shortest route to that aspiration. This aligns with the thinking if the core Presidency’’, the source said.
“Besides, many APC governors from the core northern states who are Muslims are engaged in a game strategically positioning themselves to become running mate to Osinbajo. This is the thing about the Osinbajo option as a sellable and promising option. But beyond the horsetrading, Osinbajo holds the ace on account of clout, character and competence”, the source said.
