2023: Why Wike may go against Jonathan’s choice of presidential candidate

Few day ago National Daily reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan backed the presidential ambition of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State ahead of 2023 polls.

To some people, that move may mean that Jonathan would not contest for the number one post in the land despite speculations that he may contest again. Well, if Jonathan later changes his mind and contests, that would be another issue entirely. However, Jonathan and Mohammed have been political allies over the years. Mohammed is a strong loyalist of Jonathan to the extent that he was appointed as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory by Jonathan during his tenure as President.

Back to the main issue, there are reasons why Wike may go against Jonathan’s wish and support a rival candidate for President ahead of the 2023 polls. Although, Wike had also declared his support for Mohammed weeks ago when he visited the Bauchi Governor. But, new developments and emerging political permutations suggest that Wike may go against Jonathan’s choice of presidential candidate.

The first reason why this may happen is because Wike turned around to say that he stands by the decision of Southern Governors during their meeting in Lagos. During that meeting, Southern Governors insisted that power must return to the South in 2023. The Governors irrespective of their party differences made it clear that the South must produce the next President in 2023 when President Muhammadu Buhari would complete his eighth years in power. Mohammed is not from South. He is a Northerner. By this stand of Wike, he may not be backing Mohammed.

Again, Wike may even contest for President in 2023. In this case, it means that he would still not back Mohammed whom Jonathan declared his support for. Going by his body language, Wike has been giving the impression that he is eyeing the post of President. He has been building strong alliances, playing prominent roles in his party and reconciling warring factions of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in various states across Nigeria. Speculations and some reports have suggested that Wike may run for the post but he is yet to declare his ambition. If he later contests for the post, it would mean that he would be running against the person Jonathan backs.