Intrigues and shenanigans of the electioneering season hit top gear after President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday night met with all the aspirants for President on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), at State House, Abuja, urging them to hold consultations, and come up with a formidable candidate before the party holds its primary election between June 6-8, 2022.
There are indications that a horde of power brokers in Aso Rock villa are working assiduously towards ensuring a Northerner emerged as candidate of the party for next year’s presidential election.
The Villa Cabal made up of powerful persons are said to be looking in the direction of the Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan.
The Cabal is working tirelessly in ensuring that President Buhari sees reason and align with them on choice of Lawan as the party’s presidential candidate.
Barring any last-minute change the president will present Lawan to the critical stakeholders of the party as his preferred candidate for the plum job.
Buhari had on Tuesday told governors who are members of the APC to support his candidate. He, however, did not mention who the person is.
The president’s statement has raised dust in the ruling party.
The clique, popularly known as the Villa Cabal, has secured the buy-in of the president for Lawan. One of the sources, a former governor, said Lawan was being forced on the president by the cabal.
“Buhari’s nephew, Malam Mamman Daura, a former director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, and the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, have succeeded in ramming Lawan down the throat of the president,” the source he said.
He, however, said if the Senate president was forced on the party, it would be a recipe for disaster and implosion.
“Atiku Abubakar will be declared the president-elect by noon on the election day,” he said.
Recall that Atiku had last Saturday emerged as the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 general elections.
Corroborating the former governor’s claims, an ally of the president expressed shock over the development, saying it would polarise the country.
“I just discussed the issue with one of the president’s aides. We should not allow this to happen. It is not good that after eight years, the president will be bringing another northerner as his successor. This is not good for us and the country.
“In 2007, Obasanjo brought a northerner when he was leaving because of the power-sharing formula between North and South. Anyone that is supporting the North to retain power beyond 2023 is an enemy of the country,” he said.
It’s, however, reported that the public outburst of Senator Bola Tinubu in Ogun State on Thursday was as a result of the feelers from the presidency that Buhari was may not choose him as his preferred candidate.
In apparent move to shield off Tinubu, the leadership of the APC has said the party may punish him over his utterances about the President.
The APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Saturday.
The Villa Cabal is not looking the way of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo.
Report has it that before the end of today, the APC governors will vote to choose a consensus candidate as requested by the President and by all indications, the northern governors are the majority.
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