The newly-formed All Progressives’ Congress (APC) is about to be rocked by a fresh crisis as two of the parties which merged into it, the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are preparing for a showdown over who becomes the party’s presidential flagbearer come 2015.
Though leaders of the party, including its spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had been quoted recently, insisting the 2015 race was not on the agenda currently, sources within the party confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the two northern allies in the APC, the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), were leaving no stone unturned in the bid to secure the 2015 ticket.
The party had, before the composition of its interim executive committee, agreed to zone the 2015 presidential ticket to the North, what apparently informed the decision to concede the national chairmanship position to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
It was confirmed that leaders of the ANPP from the North East were angling for the presidential ticket of the APC, on the strength of the argument that the zone had been more than marginalised of all the northern zones.
A source in the party stated that the ANPP had three governors and must be treated as the second largest party of the coalition, adding that once the ACN clinched the national chairmanship slot, the ANPP should be given the presidential slot.
According to sources, leaders of the ANPP had agreed that if the party would not be seen as playing a second fiddle, the presidential ticket must be reserved for the party.
Already, two main leaders of the party from the North-East, former governors Bukar Abba Ibrahim and Ali Modu Sheriff of Yobe and Borno States were said to be warming up for the presidential race.
But leaders of the CPC, including loyalists of General Muhammadu Buhari, were also insisting on the presidential ticket of the party.
Buhari and former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of the ANPP were also angling for the seat from the North-West.
A source said while some members of the larger APC were of the view that Buhari should play the role of a kingmaker in 2015, the core loyalists of the former president believed that he remained the face of the struggle against the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and that many followers would back out if they did not see him on the ballot.
“The battle for the presidential ticket of the APC is the new phase we have entered, following the successful submission of our interim executive to the electoral body.
“We are having issues between the ANPP and the CPC as well as supporters of General Buhari. Some younger elements of the party are saying he should play the kingmaker role in 2015.
Though some APC leaders want us to shift attention from this, the issue still remains hot within the ranks of the CPC and ANPP,” the source said.
Besides, it was further gathered that some of those who wanted Buhari out of the race were also championing the bid to lure the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal and the Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, into the party.
A source said once the plan succeeded, it would be used to knock off the quest from the North-East, as the message would be canvassed that all interested party loyalists should shelve their ambitions for the sake of the new entrants.
“The strategy in the camp of former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, is to secure the defection of Tambuwal, Kwakwanso and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, so as to be able to use them to knock out Buhari, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Bukkar Abbah and Sheriff.
“The plan is to persuade the core APC members to drop their ambition for the sake of the coalition and eventual victory in 2015,” a source said.
Leave a Reply