President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory at the February 25, 2023 poll may ordinarily not have been possible without the support of the 14 Northern Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Adedayo Akinwale writes
Last Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election, fulfilling his lifelong ambition.
The former Lagos state governor polled a total votes of 8,794,726 to defeat his closest rival and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar who scored 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of Labour party who polled 6,101,533 votes while the presidential candidate of New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso came a distant fourth with the total votes of 1,496,687.
When Tinubu commenced his race to the Presidential Villa last year, he informed President Muhammadu Buhari about his ambition. He said his aim was not to create bad blood between him and Buhari.
“I told the President that I want to succeed you and I don’t want to offend you. I told the President that I want to step in his shoes, but not step on his toes. I told him as the number one citizen, I should start my presidential bid by informing him first, and he (Buhari) told me to inform the whole world, and I have done that,” he had said then.
During the ruling party’s preparation for its Special National Convention where the party’s presidential candidate would emerge, Tinubu’s quest to replace Buhari took a dramatic turn.
Barely 24 hours to the party’s presidential primary, the APC National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, told the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party during a meeting that the President had picked the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, as his preferred candidate.
However, his announcement met stiff resistance from other members of the NWC who insisted that all the presidential aspirants must be allowed to go to the field in a free, fair and transparent contest.
In the midst of this debacle, the APC northern governors issued a statement after their meeting in Abuja backing the transfer of power to the South and also asked aspirants from the northern region to withdraw.
While the governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu, withdrew from the race, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Lawan declined.
The statement read: “APC governors and political leaders from the northern states of Nigeria today met to review the political situation and to further support our party in providing progressive leadership amidst our national challenges. During our discussions, we welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari’s invitation to governors and other stakeholders to contribute to the emergence of a strong presidential candidate for the APC.
“After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in the office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria. It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in any way affected by the decisions taken by another political party.
“We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country. We, therefore, wish to strongly recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari that the search for a successor as the APC’s presidential candidate be limited to our compatriots from the southern states.
“We appeal to all aspirants from the northern states to withdraw in the national interest and allow only the aspirants from the south to proceed to the primaries. We are delighted by the decision of our esteemed colleague, His Excellency, Governor Abubakar Badaru, to contribute to this patriotic quest by withdrawing his presidential aspiration.
“The APC has a duty to ensure that the 2023 elections offer a nation-building moment, reaffirming that a democratic pathway to power exists for all who value cooperation and build national platforms. This moment calls for the soberest and inclusive approach to selecting our party’s candidate, and we call on all APC leaders to fulfil their responsibility in this regard.”
The APC governors did not only save the day, they equally ensured that they delivered Tinubu at the party’s primary held at Eagle Square, Abuja
At the end of the day, Tinubu scored a total of 1,271 votes to defeat his closest rival, Hon Rotimi Amaechi who scored 316 votes, while Vice President Yemi Osinbajo scored 235 votes, and Governor Yahaya Bello got 47 votes.
Speaking in Akure at the residence of Pa Reuben Fasoranti during an interaction with the leaders of Afenifere after his emergence as APC flagbearer, Tinubu said President Buhari and APC northern governors proved to him that Nigeria can survive its unity and challenges.
His words: “The North proved to me Nigeria can survive its unity. Some people want President Muhammadu Buhari to announce someone but the President said No. He insisted the process must go on democratically. The President said anyone that would mess up the APC process would see the other side of his eyes. He remained upright and saw to the process to the end.
“Northern APC Governors resolved that the Presidency must go to the South and especially South West. Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Abdullahi Ganduje and others supported me to the end. The battle was tough and at a point I was in doubt. There were many rumours and I became confused of what to believe”.
Also, when the federal government insisted on implementing the naira redesign policy that threatened the victory of the party, the northern governors were there for Tinubu.
The governments of Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi States dragged the federal government to the Supreme Court following the decision of the federal government to ban the use of old naira notes on February 10 as part of the nation’s currency swap.
Consequently, they sought a restraining order through an ex-parte motion filed before the nation’s apex Court to compel the federal government and CBN from implementing the policy and from carrying out its plan of ending the timeframe within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the Naira may no longer be legal tender on February 10, 2023.
While the issue of Naira redesign policy drags on, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, while appearing on a national television alleged that there are “elements” in the Presidential Villa that are seeking the defeat of the party in the presidential election.
According to him: “I believe that there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the elections because they didn’t get their way. They had their candidate; their candidate didn’t win the primaries and I think they are still trying to get us to lose the elections and they are hiding behind the President’s desire to do what he thinks is right”.
Also, the Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje, while playing host to the Forum of Former Parliamentarians, North-West zone in Kano recently, said it was unfortunate that despite the collective efforts made by the APC to ensure Buhari’s election in 2015 and 2019 after several losses, the president had resolved to pay the party and those that supported him back by destroying the party that brought him to power.
He wondered why the President and CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele did not think of the policy seven years ago and why it had to be on the eve of an election.
“Imagine someone has been contesting without winning elections until after a merger was formed. He won the election and spent four years and re-contested again and he won. Now that he is about to go, he is doing nothing but to destroy the party that elected him.
“What is wrong with doing it after elections? Why hasn’t he done this in the past seven years? What is the meaning of all these? This CBN governor is not a politician; he doesn’t know anything about politics. How can a politician enjoy this policy? Imagine how as a leader you watch banks engulfed by fire, if not that the democracy has decayed, will that be possible?,” he wondered.
However, as the February 25 presidential election drew near, there were insinuations that the Northern APC governors will sell out by supporting the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, a fellow northerner to take over from Buhari.
Once again, the APC northern governors proved to all the doubting Thomases that their word is their bond. Not only did they deliver their states, their efforts ensured that the party’s candidate emerged winner.
No doubt, while the northern PDP governors sacrificed the party’s chance of reclaiming power by ensuring Atiku emerged as the candidate, their APC counterpart emerged as the hero of Nigeria’s democracy and the major pillar of Tinubu’s victory.
