A reliable source within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s preferred candidate in the upcoming 2023 election is Ogbonnaya Onu.
According to the source who is highly connected to the seat of power in Aso Rock, the former minister of science, technology and innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, could just be President Muhammadu Buhari’s preferred presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said both the National Leader of the party and former governor of Lagos state and Rotimi Amaechi may be on the losing end as the President has already made up his mind on Ogbonnaya Onu.
On the lobbying of former President Goodluck Jonathan by some leaders of the party, the source who wanted his name out of the print said the press may have got the whole speculation about Jonathan wrong.
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“It’s because the scales are tipping in Onu’s favour that President Buhari has delayed the signing of the amendment to the Electoral Act, that may have permitted political appointees to be voting delegates at the primaries.”
Another source stated that Onu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate will favour the call for youths’ participation in Nigeria’s national politics and also rubbish the claim that Buhari is a tribalistic.
According to the source: “But Buhari is looking for something more than age. He is desperate to redeem his legacy, especially in the wake of the raft of crises facing the country. You know the role of Buhari, his sacrifice, and that of the Nigerian Army during the civil war.
“Rooting for Onu would be a masterstroke for the country’s unity at this time. It would repair Buhari’s damaged legacy, especially the accusations of nepotism against him. And increasingly, the thinking inside the Villa is that it is both fair and right to look to the southeast.”
Ogbonnaya Onu started his political Career as an aspirant for a Senatorial seat in the old Imo State on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He contested for the position of Governor of Abia State in 1991 under the umbrella of the National Republican Convention and won.
In 1999, he was the Presidential flag bearer for the All People’s Party but relinquished the position to Olu Falae after a merger of his party with the Alliance for Democracy who lost to Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP.
He became the National Party Chairman of the All Nigerian People’s Party 2010. In 2013, his party (ANPP) successfully merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and some members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In November 2015, he was appointed Minister of Science and Technology by President Muhammadu Buhari.