2023: Why Amaechi, Umahi, Kalu and Okorocha will lose APC presidential ticket to Tinubu

The debate that the presidency should move to the southeast in 2023 has gained more momentum, as the Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai unanimously revealed that the Minister for Transportation Rotimi Amaechi is the preferred presidential candidate of President Muhammad Buhari in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

Some of the contenders for the presidency from the Southeast, Amaechi, Kalu, Umahi and Okorocha are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, the likes of Anyim, Ohuabunwa and Obi are in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

With only five states and not at a vantage position in terms of voting strength, the Southeast presidential aspirants are up against formidable presidential aspirants like the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

ALSO READ: Igbo Presidency: Why the Southeast might benefit from the visit of Northern elders to OBJ

But the efforts by the South-East to produce the next president may hit the rock as some of the aspirants from the region have vowed not to step down for one another. There are so many conflicting interests in Southeast, but there are always windows for alliances, give-and-take, a hand of friendship, and convincing others to support a particular political cause or an individual’s.

According to a report by the Punch, one of the support groups for Governor David Umahi’s presidential aspiration, Akubaraoha Youth Assembly, said with the achievements of the governor, it would be wrong for anyone to ask him to step down for any person.

The National President of the group, Mark Onu, also said that Umahi had gone far in the race and would not think about withdrawing at any stage, maintaining that the governor possessed the qualities to lead the country.

ALSO READ: 2023: 2 factors that may cause PDP to lose Southeast for the first time in 24 years

The Southeast seems to be battling with decisive indecision, discordant concord and absolute confusion. Will a president of Igbo extraction be realised when the people are not united and cannot speak with one voice and on top of it, they are perceived to play bad politics? The pronounced disunity and infighting among the Igbo would make it difficult for them to make any kind of progress in 2023.

For the 2023 presidency, the Southeast presidential aspirants under APC must forge a common front if they want to win the party presidential ticket ahead of Tinubu or they should present a candidate with a new face, who has friends, is controversy-free, has no political baggage, and is well-known across the country.

So, in the light of this development, political observers are of the opinion that if the Southeast presidential aspirants in the All Progressive Congress (APC) failed to forge a common front, they would eventually lose to Bola Tinubu, because the Igbo presidency is only possible through the spirit of togetherness.