The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, may have covertly dared the frontline presidential aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in the race for the APC ticket in 2023. Amaechi, without emphatically mentioning Tinubu, declared in a media interaction on Sunday that “only God knows Nigeria’s next President.”
The Transport Minister presupposes that human influence or wealth may not be sufficient to determine who becomes president of the country in 2023 at the end of the second tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amaechi had declared: “I am still the Minister for Transportation and only God can tell who will be the President of Nigeria in 2023.”
National Daily investigation shows that the Tinubu camp and the Amaechi camp have been having latent rivalry construed to be linked to the 2023 presidential ticket of the APC since the second tenure of President Buhari. Some party sources said that the rivalry even began during the president’s first tenure as both APC leaders contend to court the president’s attention and favour.
The party sources said that Tinubu and Amaechi were both crucial to the president’s victory in 2015 and have been using the emergent relationship to struggle with one another for the president’s influence. The party sources maintained that they have both been having latent battle in the party, lobbying other APC chieftains for alliances, and building power blocs within the APC.
The APC sources classified Amaechi to belong to the radical wing of the APC with links to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, two other governors from the northwest, and additional two governors from the north central, beside others. The party sources further classified Tinubu to belong to the liberal wing of APC, working in alliance with some governors and party leaders in the northeast and north central.
It was disclosed that the radical wing of APC has closer ties with the conservative wing, which the president belongs, than the liberal wing.
Other presidential aspirants who were identified to include Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senator Sani Yerima, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, were said not to have any rivalry with Amaechi. Though, some were said to be vehemently opposed to the Tinubu presidential aspiration for the APC ticket in 2023.
There was, however, a disclosure that an acceptable presidential candidate may emerge from the north at the important time. Invariably, the jostle for the vice-presidential ticket was said to be reinforcing the presidential aspirants in the APC. Some known political leaders in different parts of the country were said to be negotiating for the vice presidential ticket with certain presidential aspirants across the country. Several political leaders from the south were identified to be in the race for the VP slot, which further worsen the zoning controversy in the APC.