Bola Tinubu has gone to almost every other region in the country. But two particular regions seem to have been somehow overlooked. And there may be reasons the national APC leader is yet to consult the two geopolitical zones.
He started the work fully by visiting President Muhammadu Buhari, his ally, in the Presidential Villa. They talked and Tinubu told the president about his ambition. Thereafter he went to notable places in the country.
Tinubu was in Kano and Katsina (northwest), Niger and Abuja (north-central), Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo (southwest). He met with top political leaders, politicians and of course traditional rulers in their domains.
Since he started the movement, he has been to Abia state (southeast) to talk with Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu. He notified the former Abia state governor about his presidential bid. He did this despite the fact that All Progressives Congress isn’t a popular party in the southeast zone.
But what about the northeastern region? The All Progressives Congress is averagely popular in that axis as well. It controls Borno, Gombe and Yobe State. And that should make Tinubu to visit that area to canvas for support.
There may be two reasons he won’t want to go to that area now. He has a number of allies who will always or often want to work for him. Mr. Kashim Shettima, Mr. Ahmed Lawan, even Mr. Babagana Zulum are allies of Tinubu in that area.
The second reason may be because of the presence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Bala Mohammed. They are also presidential hopefuls and Tinubu may not want to spend so much time, energy and resources in that region because of the two men.
Tinubu’s presence in the south-south region isn’t as strong as in the other regions mentioned above. And the former Lagos State governor has not done so much to boost his presence in the oil rich region.
There could be a reason for Tinubu’s reluctance to enter the south-south powerfully. And the main reason is that south-south is still the stronghold or base of the Peoples Democratic Party.The PDP has so many echelons in the south-south zone. Mr. Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Mr. Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Mr. Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke are some of the top PDP leaders. And they can make it difficult for Tinubu to conquer the south-south geopolitical zone.