After ruling out a number of important members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, including some within the government, the cabal behind President Muhammadu Buhari has been left with a dilemma in terms of appointing a successor to the outgoing president.
While the cabal is alleged to know who will not succeed Buhari, many sources claim they are unsure who will.
According to various sources, Buhari’s inability to identify a suitable Southern presidential candidate fueled speculation over the weekend that the loyal Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipire Sylva, could emerge as his traditional dark horse.
The permutation on Sylva, which had been suggested in the past but was now taking on a life of its own, was given credence by APC sources in Bayelsa State and authoritative sources in Abuja.
The president’s powerful cabal, which is said to be primarily made up of kin from Katsina and party supporters from the North, has been baffled by the determination of some of those they had previously ruled out. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is one of them, according to reports, who has insisted on exercising his democratic rights in a free and fair primary. All things being equal, he appears to be the man to beat.
Another candidate, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, has surprised the cabal with the amount of support he has received. Different polls and studies that place Osinbajo as one of the best chances for the APC to maintain power in 2023, despite insinuations of lack of faith in the professor, have not rocked the cabal.
Governor Kayode Fayemi’s chances, who is also thought to be ready to launch his candidacy, are also alleged to have failed to win the cabal’s approval.
Many people, mostly from the South, are alleged to have been considered by the cabal, including Rotimi Amaechi, Ibikunle Amosun, and President Goodluck Jonathan, among others. Jonathan, according to reports, has made it a condition that he be adopted as a consensus, something the cabal has not been able to ensure.
In a sign of the ongoing negotiations and possibilities for the former PDP president, Jonathan encouraged demonstrators bussed to his Abuja office to still wait, despite the fact that the route was still not clear.
The prospects on Sylva have been influenced by the turmoil in the cabal’s camp.
Yesterday, many sources in Abuja and Bayelsa confirmed the news.
When reached by Saturday Vanguard, Dofie Ola, the APC’s state publicity secretary in Bayelsa State and previously Sylva’s Chief Press Secretary as governor, declined to comment on the matter.
He told the Saturday Vanguard, “I have no opinion on what you have requested.”
According to insiders, the minister’s assistants were given explicit instructions by the minister not to remark on the matter. Other allies of the minister, on the other hand, told Saturday Vanguard that work on Sylva’s presidential desire has been happening for some time.
Many of the informants, however, refused to disclose on what benefits had drew Sylva to the cabal.
However, a key APC insider told Saturday Vanguard that the cabal wants a president who is agreeable and simple to control, and that Sylva was an easy choice for them.
“They’re looking for someone who will be willing and amenable, and Sylva fits the bill because he is both willing and amenable in the eyes of the Northern cabal.”
“You can see how they’ve trusted him with the petroleum ministry for almost four years, unlike that other Delta man (Ibe Ikachikwu),” one source familiar with the Sylva project said yesterday.
It was also learned that Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi’s ambition is weighing heavily on the minds of Nigerians.
the leaders of the north
“Those who look at Amaechi say it is a moral issue because he has given so much to the party and twice delivered the president. However, some of them scoff at his arrogance, as seen by his claim that it was unpresidential as he sprinted around the stadium.”
Meanwhile, chieftains in the PDP affiliated with Atiku Abubakar rejoiced at the idea of Sylva emerging as the president’s dark horse. According to one trustworthy source, the election of Sylva would be a sweet triumph for Atiku, as disgruntled Yoruba APC chiefs and others would readily back him if he emerged as the PDP candidate.
The enthusiasm of the Atiku camp Saturday Vanguard was not shared by Nyesom Wike’s team, which believes they are ahead despite the emergence of Governor Udom Emmanuel, whom they allege may have entered the race to disrupt Wike’s momentum.