APC national leader Bola Tinubu recently said he was under pressure to contest the presidency in 2023. Now party men irritated by that statement are rising up to dismiss him though the contest is four years ahead.
Many acknowledged the former governor is a good politician, but he won’t get there in 2023.
“I like Tinubu as a person and he has contributed immensely to the success of our party, but honestly he is not the kind of president Nigeria needs in 2023.” said APC shieftin Adamu Kuta in a statement in Minna on Tuesday.
“Nigerians need someone that can continue with the achievements and the foundation that Buhari has laid.
“We want someone that can continue from where Buhari will stop in 2023.”
Although there’s no official power rotation formula, the party might be zoning its presidential slot to the south in 2023, and many disgruntled members with such ambition are going to kick.
Even before then, the party is already in crisis mode, making many to believe the ruling party will expire with Buhari’s administration.
But the APC chieftain dismissed that speculation.
“Crisis is not new in party politics and every political party has its own share of the crisis.
“It is the good work of Buhari in the next four years that will determine whether or not the party can last beyond 2023. But the good work Buhari is doing now, there is no doubt that the party will win the 2023 election,” he said.
He further said that any zone can produce the president in 2023, noting that the Nigeria constitution does not recognise zoning of political offices.
“The last general election had presidential candidates from every region of the country and nobody stopped them because the constitution recognises them.
“So every region has the constitutional right to field candidates for any elective position in the country.
Kuta is not the only speaking up against Tinubu’s ambition. Some northern elders and serving politicians are, too, directly or indirectly.
Kaduna Gov Nasir el-Rufai began a groundswell public incitement against the APC leader weeks ago, an action many observers believe was targeted at 2023, which the governor is also positioning for.