APC presidential primary: Onu, Badaru, aspirants to watch

By Tom Okpe

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will between Monday and Wednesday next week, elect one of the many Presidential aspirants for the 2023 general election.

However, two out of the about 23 aspirants screened for the race- Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, former Minister of Science and Technology and Governor of Jigawa State, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru are noted as candidates to watch, as it concerns the party’s Presidential ticket, DailyTimes gathered.

This is based on their perceived loyalty to the Presidency, party and the top echelon of the ruling party, coupled with individual self-comportation they exude in performing their official duties and party assignments.

A source at the party secretariat said for the former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Onu stands a better chance for equity, fairness and the unification of Nigeria.

He said: “President Buhari is from the North, precisely Northwest. The North has produced more heads of state and elected presidents than other geo-political zones in the country since Independence.

“Therefore, equity, fairness and justice demand that the presidency should come to the south after President Buhari’s eight years in office.

“In the South, especially since 1999, the southwest had produced a civilian President in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for eight years. The same southwest is with a vice president for eight years in the person of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo by 2023. The South-south produced President Goodluck Jonathan who was a vice president and president for a cumulative eight years.

“The South-east is the only geopolitical zone that has never produced either a vice president or a president. Fairness, equity and justice demand that the Southeast be given the chance to field presidential candidates by all the political parties in Nigeria for 2023.”

Against this background, who should fly the flag of APC from the South-east? Three major political parties- the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) merged together and founded APC in 2013.

President Buhari came from the CPC bloc; Vice President Osinbajo came from the ACN bloc. The three past chairmen of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole all emerged from the ACN bloc. The defunct ANPP bloc is the only one yet to be fully accommodated in the tripartite arrangement that gave birth to APC.

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was the national chairman of the defunct ANPP at the time of the merger.

Onu was a foundation member of the All Peoples Party (APP) that eventually metamorphosed to ANPP.

Our source continued that: “Onu won the presidential primaries of the then APP in 1998 and he became its presidential candidate. Chief Olu Falae was the candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) while Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“He had to relinquish his prized presidential ticket and ambition in order to assuage the feeling of the Southwest which demanded for the presidency of Nigeria as a result of the annulment of the famous June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief M.K.O Abiola, adjudged to be the most fair, free and credible election ever conducted, since the history of the country.

“This is the time for the Southwest to reciprocate gestures from the Igbos and sacrifice for the South-east in the best interest of equity and unity of Nigeria,” he added.

It’s also believed that the incumbent Governor of Jigawa State is a man propelled for the nation’s plum job.

At present, Gov Badaru is the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fertilizer and also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Non-oil Revenue, positions only reserved for a close ally of the president.

According to sources, Badaru’s move followed the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to allow northern candidates to contest the ruling party’s presidential ticket.

Buhari’s decision could threaten the party’s alliance of northern and southern politicians as it casts doubt over zoning of the top ticket to southern aspirants on equity grounds.

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Source familiar with the matter who doesn’t want to be mentioned told our correspondent that President Buhari has become increasingly doubtful lately, about the ability of a southern candidate to win a presidential election, especially as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party presents a candidate of northern origin.

With these calculations, the Jigawa State Governor seems to have a brighter hope on the Presidency with the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the Peoples Democratic (PDP) flag bearer in the same election from the north.

Badaru while purchasing the nomination forms, claimed he has the backing of President Buhari saying; “I am the only candidate capable to do the job, and been encouraged by my brother Governors’

“I will join the presidential race since everyone knows I’m highly qualified to do the job.”

His media aide, Auwalu Sankara also confirmed that his principal sought President Muhammadu Buhari’s blessings before buying the form.

At the time of filing this report, the Odigie Oyegun led screening Committee had finished screening all the party presidential aspirants’, including Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, Yahaya Bello, Sanni Yerima, Ibikunle Amosun, Emeka Nwajiuba, Godswill Akpabio and others.