APC: Presidential ticket and the battle ahead
Opposition
political parties have recorded a string of success after overcoming
several challenges to fuse into a single party, the All Progressive
Congress. However, the choice of a Presidential flag bearer for the 2015
election may prove to be a hard nut to crack, reports JOHN ALECHENU
Members of the opposition All
Progressives Congress and their supporters heaved a sigh of relief when
the party received a long-awaited nod from the Independent National
Electoral Commission to function as a political party.
INEC’s endorsement came after a
hard-fought struggle to overcome huddles put before it by external
forces bent on scuttling what is today Nigeria’s first successful merger
of opposition political parties.
Three political parties: the Action
Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change and the All
Nigeria Peoples Party and a faction of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance, fought internal battles to ensure they got a good deal under
the new political arrangement.
What has, however, not been lost to
political observers is the fact that promoters of each of these legacy
parties have their eyes set on the ultimate prize, which is the party’s
2015 presidential ticket.
There have been long-held fears among
loyalists of the merging political parties, that the larger than life
image of former Head-of-State and the CPC presidential candidate in the
2011 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari, and the domineering
personality of the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, could make or
mar the party’s chances in any endeavour.
This fear earlier fuelled speculations
that the merger was simply mission impossible. Chairman of the CPC
Merger Committee, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, had assured Nigerians that the
two were willing to make sacrifices for the merger to succeed. He argued
that the task before the party was the survival of democracy and, by
extension, the nation.
He said, “I can assure you that the two
leaders, General Muhammadu Buhari, and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and all the
leaders of the opposition parties agreed that the parties should merge
to rescue Nigeria from the pit and no Jupiter will change it.”
The party chieftain eulogised Tinubu,
whom he said had a record of performance as a democrat; he cited his
stint as a NADECO chieftain, senator and later Lagos State governor to
buttress his point.
For General Buhari, Obono-Obla said his
respect for democracy and the rule of law accounted for his decision to
challenge the outcome of three previous presidential elections, which he
contested and lost up to the Supreme Court.
According to him, the party is on a
rescue mission and every member of the party is ready to make sacrifices
to salvage the nation from the brink of collapse.
However, if feelers from the camp of the
three parties are anything to go by, the challenge of who bears the
party’s flag in the 2015 election will serve as the greatest challenge
to the avowed commitment of the party leaders to make these sacrifices.
Sympathizers of each of the potential
candidates believe their leaders hold the key to the nation’s salvation
from self destruction.
The old CPC block has not given up on
its desire to see Buhari get another shot at the presidency. His ardent
supporters argue that he has the experience and appeal to wrest power
from incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan should the Peoples Democratic
Party re-present him as candidate in 2015.
General Buhari is said to be still very
much interested in giving the race another shot as he has said he is
ready to present himself again if an opportunity presents itself. Some
of his die-hard supporters have gone to the extent of printing posters
announcing him as candidate.
One of his close associates, Rotimi
Fashakin, however, dissociated the General from such posters and
billboards describing them as the handiwork of detractors.
Fashakin, who is a former national
publicity secretary of the CPC, also dismissed talk about the
presidential ticket at this stage as idle talk.
He said, “Everybody is going to start on
a fresh platform, we are starting anew. It’s too early to start talking
about the presidential candidate for the party at this point.
“We will not allow anybody to distract
us because we still have to go for a convention to elect our officials.
It is not the interim committee currently in place that will provide
these modalities.
“It is when an elected executive is in place that they can draw up the necessary modalities on how candidates will emerge.”
However, he said party members would be
given an opportunity to decide whether or not General Buhari should or
should not fly the party flag.
Fashakin expressed confidence that the
General would contest the party primaries. He, like Buhari’s close
associates, considers him the best person for the job.
But those in the old ANPP block within
the APC feel it is time for Buhari to give way for a younger contender
like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau. Shekarau was the ANPP flag bearer in the
2011 presidential election.
His supporters argue that his eight year
stint as governor of Kano State and his commitment to the cause of the
opposition party should count.
Those in the old ACN block enjoy some
form of leverage because their leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, is not
considered a contender for the ticket.
He, however, could present himself for
the vice presidency in the unlikely event that the slot is zoned to the
South-West geo-political zone.
This in itself leaves a lot of room for
worry among the South-Eastern All Progressive Grand Alliance, which
contends it is good enough to present a candidate for the presidential
ticket.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, who
is leading the APGA faction within the APC, has indicated interest in
cornering the ticket for himself.
According to those knowledgeable about
Okorocha’s calculations, he is confident that his presence in the
opposition party would brighten his chances of getting a presidential
ticket, which has long eluded him.
A new twist was added to the mix when
news made the rounds that some elements within the APC were working to
draft a former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd),
into the 2015 presidential election race.
The North, it was learnt, decided to
shift its focus to the newly registered APC as it has now dawned on them
that it will be easier for the proverbial camel to get through the eye
of the needle than for any of their potential candidates to get the
ticket of the ruling PDP.
To give vent to the North’s claim to the
Presidency in 2015, spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum, Prof.
Ango Abdullahi, said in an interview that the northern claim to the
throne was non-negotiable.
Abdullahi said, “We (the Northern Elders Forum) believe that the North should produce the President of Nigeria in 2015.
“Our position has been consistent that a
suitably acceptable good candidate for the position of president should
garner support hopefully not only in the North but also elsewhere in
the country.
“If my friend is presented to me today, I
will be the first to move around and canvass support for him. T.Y.
Danjuma is a personal friend and bearing his age, I will be one of those
who will force him to run.
“But if the general agreement presents
him, I will be the happiest for it. Obviously, Danjuma will have
national and international appeal.”
He further explained that it would all depend on the retired general’s consent.
Although, he was non-committal when the
issue of party platform came up, he said the fact was not lost to
northerners that the current structure of the PDP would make it near
impossible for President Jonathan not to hold on to the party ticket
come 2015.
The interim National Publicity Secretary
of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed, expressed the view that the party would
put its detractors to shame.
He said, “They said we could never agree
to merge, we did; they said we could not come up with a name, logo and
manifesto, we did; they said we would not be registered, we were
registered. This party has come to stay, we have sufficient internal
mechanisms to deal with issues.”
