The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council is putting together a deal with smaller parties to help Asiwaju Bola Tinubu win the next presidential election.
The PUNCH learned that Tinubu’s endorsement by the parties had been sought after by the PCC and the party.
According to research, Tinubu and the APC governors met on Monday night in response to concerns raised by some party members about the need to fix shortcomings in the party’s presidential campaign.
It was discovered that the candidate and the governor-led APC Presidential Campaign Council believed that cooperation with other parties would help the party win the most votes and the necessary national support in the presidential election.
Senator Adesoji Akanbi, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, confirmed to The Punch on Tuesday that the APC was considering options other than the Labour Party, Peoples Democratic Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party, noting that agreements could be reached with the smaller parties to adopt Tinubu.
Remember that Tinubu had been trying to get Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Samuel Ortom, and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State (Enugu) to join his party, the People’s Democratic Party.
But the PDP governors have refused to back the former governor of Lagos State, even though they have met many times and are afraid of being punished by the party.
Apprehension in the ruling party is also said to be caused by the apathy displayed by many APC chieftains, previous presidential hopefuls, and ministers toward Tinubu’s ambition, which was evident in their failure to support his campaigns.
But on Tuesday, the presidential candidate met with some APC governors in Abuja in an effort to restructure his campaign and improve his chances.
Akanbi, a member of the APC-Election PPC’s Planning and Monitoring Committee and the group’s coordinator in the South-West, spoke about their strategy for getting other parties to support the APC standard bearer and noted that talks were already under way in Oyo State. She urged APC leaders in other states to follow suit.
We are urging members of the Accord (Party), the Social Democratic Party, and other political parties to support Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the upcoming presidential election, according to the former lawmaker who also serves as the chairman of strategy and policy for the Tinubu-Shettima Independent Campaign Council.
“It’s too late to look for APC defectors; that would not work and is a waste of time.” That could happen on its own.Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our candidate for president, is the product we are pitching to them.
For these and other reasons, they ought to show their support for him so that they can elect a president who will carry out his duties.
States are using this strategy.
We encourage all of our members and stakeholders in other states to adopt that strategy, and I am confident that they are. It was my personal concept from the beginning, just after the primaries, and I sold it to the party as a whole. As a result, the majority of the states have adopted it. “Politics is regional,” he said.
When reached, Fetus Keyamo, spokesman for the PCC and Minister of Labor and Employment, remarked, “It’s a positive development.” In politics, you need as many people as you can get.We warmly welcome all political parties and candidates who have come to their senses and are prepared to work with Asiwaju. It is a very positive development.
The SDP would welcome an alliance with the APC, according to factional National Publicity Secretary Alpha Mohammed.
Mohammed claimed that the SDP had conducted research and found that the APC’s presidential candidate was the best.
“Our party is considering an alliance with Tinubu soon because we believe he is the most successful candidate,” he stated. You only need to look at the revelations he made at the Chatham House meeting to see that he created a state that is capable of standing on its own as a modern nation. No one has refuted that. We are all aware of what he did in Lagos.
“We need a leader with an idea who can change a country by harnessing economic and revenue-producing resources. Nobody is better at creating resources for a revenue-generating approach than Tinubu. We assessed the situation and determined that he is the best.
Mohammed continued, “Where we discover an SDP candidate who is promising, we would support him,” to further explain why his faction might not back the SDP presidential candidate. However, if it turns out that the candidate is only there for electoral objectives, spare your political resources for someone else.
Naturally, we are supporting Tinubu. You are aware of the SDP’s divisions. I informed you that it is our responsibility as a faction to assess the candidates to determine which will take Nigeria further than the others.
“Of course, we will support the SDP presidential candidate on the other side if he is the greatest.” We have backed other SDP candidates who have won in some states. For instance, in Niger State, we were successful in electing a local official who was not a member of my own party.
Rufus Aiyenigba, who is in charge of public relations for the SDP, said there was no deal with the APC or any other political party.
Aiyenigba said that the SDP was the only party with a real plan to reposition the country. He said that the party’s presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, had gone too far to even think about taking such a path.
“It’s not true, no. Not that I’m suggesting other parties can’t, just that the SDP can’t. Our candidate is running for office right now, and we are organising around the country. He’s in Kano right now. Our team will be in Bayelsa tomorrow (today), and we will set off on Saturday from Ogun State. We have no alliances with any parties, people, or organisations.
“The SDP is the only party in the nation that is as passionate about the need to create a new Nigeria.” How can the party with the strongest plan consider a partnership where it is not the main player? No deal, I say once more.
Candidates and parties kick
Omoyele Sowore, who is running for president as part of the African Action Alliance, and Chief Victor Oye, who is the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, both said that they would not work with the APC candidate.
“No, and I think we’ve made it obvious that the PRP-Vanguard was the first political partnership in this election cycle,” Sowore said. We don’t share any ideologies with the fringe group you described.
Also addressing the group, Muhammad Nalado, national chairman of the Accord Group, stated that no negotiations were currently underway with the APC or any other political party.
“We cannot doubt them since we are not members of the APC,” he said. However, as of right now, we haven’t spoken with or sat down with any political party to discuss mergers, alliances, or anything else.
Our presidential candidate is currently working toward his objective of becoming the president of Nigeria, and we have already established our campaign council and are continuing with our campaign. Thus far, there has been no negotiation.
We have never considered bargaining in our meeting or with any other political party, but I can’t rule it out right now while I’m speaking to you.
In the meantime, the APC front-runner met in Abuja with governors chosen for its platform.
The conference, which started on Monday night and finished in the wee hours of Tuesday, was, according to our correspondent, conducted at the upmarket Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
Governors Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Aminu Masari of Katsina, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi, and Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa states were also in attendance at the meeting.
Others were the PCC Secretary, James Faleke, the Deputy DG (Operations) of the campaign council, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Deputy DG (Administration), Hadiza Bala-Usman.
The PUNCH learned that enough money was mentioned as a crucial issue that needed to be addressed in the final few weeks before the election at the meeting scheduled to review the activities of the presidential campaign committee.
A reliable party source confided in one of our correspondents that discussions about altering the way the campaigns are funded were held.
He claimed, “We are entering the campaign’s last phase, which requires more substantial finance.” Now is the moment for all legitimate, registered support groups to get active and mobilise Nigerians in support of our candidate and his running companion.
Because the candidate plans to visit every state in the union and will be joined by party supporters, including some of these support groups, they will need to travel more than before.
“Every day, more supporters board the Tinubu/Shettima campaign train.” “It’s up to your imagination how this will affect your finances,” he stated.
The PUNCH learned that at the discussion there was also worry about several important chieftains not attending the campaign rallies.
The Minister of Labor and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who recently caused a commotion in the party, is notable among those who have declined to support Tinubu.
The minister stated on January 3 at his birthplace of Alor, in Anambra State’s Idemili South Local Government Area, “I don’t think I will go around campaigning for candidate A, B, or C.” No, I won’t. It is not my specialty. I don’t flit from gathering to gathering. However, I do have some conscience, which I will safeguard and make sure is unharmed.
Apart from Ngige, The PUNCH’s investigation found that Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, the former Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and other chieftains have been avoiding the party’s election-related activities.
It was decided that as party leaders, it sends the correct message if we are all present to consistently support the party. Although this is not really a problem,
Yes, there may be times when it isn’t possible due to unforeseeable situations. In general, party leaders and other interested parties were urged to support the party and its programmes.
The senior party official responded, “The APC runs the best campaign,” when asked if the party would implement new tactics in the closing weeks of the elections. Everywhere we go, the welcome is extraordinary. However, we agree with ourselves that things can always improve.
What matters is whether the candidate will follow through on his commitments. Nigerians are familiar with the Jagaban, unlike other contenders who have nothing to offer. It is beyond dispute that he has a successful past as the twice-elected governor of Lagos State. The work that God has allowed him to undertake for many years now shows his dedication to ensuring the welfare of Nigerians. We will therefore travel to the remaining states with renewed enthusiasm, as we always have.
speaking onanuga
When questioned about the specifics of Tinubu’s meeting with the governors, Bayo Onanuga, the APC Presidential Campaign Council’s director of media, responded that they were not meant for public consumption.
“Our candidate did indeed meet with the APC governors. The only purpose of the gathering was to review the campaign’s activities. “It is not for public consumption, so I can’t say much more than that,” he stated.
In a similar event, President Muhammadu Buhari lobbied for votes for the APC candidate on Tuesday in Yobe State so that Tinubu could carry on his legacy.
In his speech at the APC campaign rally, Buhari urged Yobe residents to support the former governor of Lagos State in order to finish the job of rebuilding Nigeria that he began more than seven years earlier.
Buhari was quoted as saying, “I accompany Asiwaju here to advise you to vote for him so that he can continue with my legacy of rebuilding Nigeria,” in a statement released under Tinubu’s media aide Tunde Rahman.
Punch
