When it’s becoming obvious that rumours might end up a reality, one can only imagine the next thing, after the occurrence of evident signs of its manifestation.
Ripples Nigeria had this to say:
“Chairman of the Presidential Screening Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said on Friday that ten presidential aspirants of the party were on Monday disqualified.
According to him, only 13 of the aspirants scaled through the screening.
The Presidential Screening Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday, disqualified 10 aspirants who were seeking to fly the party’s flag in the 2023 presidential election, while 13 were cleared to go into the party primary scheduled for June 6 to 8.
The committee chairman stated that only youthful aspirants made the list of those cleared for the primary.”
If we are to go by this narrative, it consolidates the rumors that Ahmed Tinubu – former Lagos State Governor – will not be given the Presidential Ticket. He is an old man! For a man who is revered as being the most-instrumental catalyst in the ascension of the current administration into power, one would think his ambition would be welcomed without bias by members of the party.
The APC primaries will start today, and decisions will be made. There is a possibility of a consensus candidate.
What happens if Tinubu is denied the ticket?
I believe the APC structure will suffer a terrible disintegration, because the King Maker is so power-hungry, and wants to assume the role of a king by all means possible. The BAT (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) train was important in driving President Mohammed Buhari to Aso Rock.
The BAT fraction of the APC could decide to pitch their support elsewhere, under the feeling of “I am being betrayed,” or “if I can’t have the ticket, I’ll make sure the party doesn’t win.” We saw this play out when a fraction of PDP members left to form APC. We’ve also seen this play out in various places in our society.
But who is he likely to support, if he ends up being betrayed?
I know of a certainty that he would not want anything to do with the Peter Obi’s Labour Party. In some of his interviews, his opinions about the Igbos will likely affect his decision to support the party.
What are the chances of him secretly re-joining the PDP? He cannot support their greatest rival, because I doubt if they’ll give him the type of gratitude he expects.
But on a final note: What if he steps down for Osibanjo? Seeing that the decision to make the Professor the vice-president of Nigeria was greatly influenced by him, would it be a shock to others if he decides to support his supposed boy?
I want to believe this final option to be his best choice, should it be entirely true that there’s a plan to disqualify him from contesting.
Did I just say that I don’t trust what the APC Chairman of the Presidential Screening Committee said to the public?
Yes, I said it. They could still shock us. They are ‘’Nigerian” politicians.
Written by: Edward Amah
