04 May, 2013

APC 2015 TICKET: TAMBUWAL BANKS ON GOVS, EMIRS AGAINST BUHARI


Despite repeated denials of his involvement in the race for the 2015 presidential race, emerging facts indicate that Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has intensified direct and indirect solicitation of support from some northern governors and frontline emirs.
Saturday Sun had, two weeks ago, reported that Tambuwal may have concluded plans to seek the nomination of the newly formed mega opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) should President Goodluck Jonathan decide to contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Tambuwal’s moves come as three former presidential candidates and prominent promoters of APC have activated their aspiration to vie for the new party’s ticket. They are presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari; All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP),

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in the 2011 general elections. Although ACN and CPC have, however, said the issue of who picks APC’s presidential ticket is not on the front burner of the new party, a member of the House of Representatives, who is deeply involved in the “Tambuwal project,” told Saturday Sun that the Speaker has to intensify “building more bridges across all divides to broaden his support base, so as to make his candidacy an easy sell for our likely platform in the 2015 race.”
When asked if the Speaker is aware that some governors in the North may also be nursing an ambition to be adopted as the zone’s consensus candidate, the source said: “We are very sure of that and this is why we have not forgotten to extend our hands of fellowship to our governors, either directly or indirectly. “Apart from the Speaker’s personal visits and contacts with the governors, don’t forget that all members of the House are involved in this project and some of us have good relationships with our governors, especially those from the North.
This is in addition to the influence of some of our prominent emirs, who are already aware of the project. And we believe our governors will show understanding when the time comes because they have been producing the president of the country since the 2003 election, so we are convinced that after some political negotiations they will allow the legislative arm of our democratic experience make its own contributions by supporting one of us.” Another member of the House of Representatives, who is also involved in promoting the Tambuwal presidency, disclosed that the level of support among members of the House is unprecedented.
To buttress this, the lawmaker from the North West said: “If the Hon. Speaker decides to join APC to run on their platform today, I can tell you that same moment almost all PDP members in the House will follow him.” While explaining why Tambuwal is being cautious about his move in this regard, the source said: “That is being delayed because discussions and agreements with the APC leadership have to be firm and thorough first and, besides, we are also working on an information that the presidency is waiting for that will happen, so that they can frustrate the release of funds coming into the House to get members agitated and move against the Speaker.”
When asked about a major hurdle of contending with the candidature of Gen Buhari in the race to pick the APC presidential ticket, the lawmaker explained that the former Head of State is an elder statesman who can always be persuaded to give the younger generation a chance. “There is, no doubt, Gen Buhari controls the crowd and mass followership in the North, which is his greatest asset. But we also know that influential members of the northern elite are not comfortable with him and so could sabotage his victory at the general elections.
This is why we believe we can beg him and we will have to beg him to accept a younger candidate who enjoys wider acceptability across the country,” the source added. Meanwhile, there are indications that Buhari may have succumbed to pressures from his supporters to run in the 2015 race on the platform of APC. Buhari and national leader of the ACN, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who are both frontline promoters of APC, had, at a time, agreed to sacrifice their ambition in the interest of their new party and the nation. While Tinubu is yet to shift ground on his initial commitment, a highly placed source in Buhari’s camp said the former Head of State has succumbed to agitations for him to contest the presidency the fourth time.
“We believe he will be the best candidate for APC to win the presidential election in 2015 because of his performance in the 2011 election, especially in the North where he won convincingly in several states, especially in the North West. With the coalition of the progressives in APC, the base has been widened and we believe we only need the South West and some support from the South East and South South to send PDP packing in the next election.
This is why we are working to make him get the APC ticket,” he stated. Last Wednesday, Gen. Buhari did not mince words to confirm his interest to contest the next elections on the platform of APC and the possibility of his stepping down for a better candidate. Speaking in Minna, Niger State, at a public lecture, Buhari said: “Whoever thinks he has got a chance, let him come out because the more we are, the merrier it becomes.
I will be ready to step down if there is a formidable and better candidate. It is not about me but for the survival of the party. APC is about ensuring internal democracy, whoever emerges is the person I will support. Yes, I will be ready to step down.” It was also gathered that while the former ANPP presidential candidate, Mallam Shekarau, has begun the activation of his 2011 campaign structure preparatory to vying for the APC ticket ahead of the 2015 polls, his ACN counterpart, Mallam Ribadu has equally begun to restore his last campaign machinery, especially his media contacts. Towards this, one of Ribadu’s former aides when he was at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as chairman, has already relocated from his base in Lagos to Abuja to ensure the take-off of the retired police officer’s campaign.
Besides, the former ACN presidential candidate has been seen to be available at all party functions to increase his visibility. “So far, the Ribadu media team has started work and we have activated our relationship with the team of journalists that worked with us during the last election,” a member of Team Ribadu told Saturday Sun on condition of anonymity. While trying to downplay the jostle for APC ticket, National Publicity Secretary of ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the talk about a presidential candidate for APC at this stage of its formation is a PDP agenda to distract the new party.
“We don’t even want to put anybody’s ambition on our front burner now. We don’t want PDP to use that to foist its agenda on us. When we get there, (the point of choosing a presidential candidate) we will sort that out,” he stressed. In his reaction to a question on whether there is any pressure on Buhari to pave the way for Tambuwal to pick the APC ticket, CPC spokesman, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin rhetorically asked whose interest such a decision would serve.
According to him, “it is a rumour that has no iota of truth in it. I don’t know whose interest the people spreading this rumour are serving. Nobody is putting pressures on Gen. Buhari for anything. There is no truth in it.”
Source: Sun

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