PREVIEW: Top 6 gladiators in race for APC presidential ticket

The John Odigie Oyegun screening committee has cleared 13 out of the 23 aspirants to contest for the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress on Monday.

However, out of the 13, six are top gladiators and the focus will be which of the six will pick the party’s presidential ticket.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Since entering the nation’s political scene as a senator in the third republic, Tinubu’s influence has continued to grow. When Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999, Tinubu clinched the Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship ticket in Lagos State, going on to win the election.

Tinubu ruled Lagos for two terms – the only AD governor to do so, after then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s onslaught on the South West governors.

He is credited with being the architect of modern Lagos, increasing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from a paltry monthly return of N500m to N15b by the time he left office. It is reported that the state currently gross over N51billion per month in IGR. He also introduced many other innovations to Lagos, creating many agencies which helped the administration achieved its dream of turning Lagos into a modern city.

As a detrabilised leader, Tinubu appointed as commissioners, people from every part of the country, making Lagos a truly cosmopolitan city-state.

Tinubu is also credited to have built human resources, bringing up Babatunde Fashola who replaced him after eight years in office, to continue his legacy.

Indeed, if one wants to point at any other politician more influential in the country than President Buhari, it has to be Tinubu, whose influence has grown across the country. Past and present governors across the South West had Tinubu’s hands in their emergence, while he is also credited with nominating Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate in 2015.

Tinubu was greatly instrumental to the emergence of Buhari as the president in 2015, after the earlier attempts at the nation’s number one post, defeating President Goodluck Jonathan, the first time an incumbent president failed to get re-elected. He has enough political IOU to cash in and huge nationwide political infrastructure to clinch the APC ticket.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo

After spending seven years, being vice president and some months as acting president, Osinbajo is sure formidable contender for the nation’s number one seat.

While one can argue that Osinbajo cannot dissociate himself from the administration of President Buhari, he has stood out in times he was acting president.

Osinbajo is reputed to have helped Lagos win the Federal Government at the Supreme Court after the Obasanjo-led government withdrew Lagos State funds after Tinubu created new local governments in the state.  He is also credited to have improved the administration of justice in the state, which became a template for other states.

With his wealth of experience in the last seven years, Osinbajo definitely is one of the aspirants to beat at Monday’s presidential primaries. His current position as a sitting Vice President has given him national name recognition from the obscurity of being a former commissioner in Lagos and a Professor of law.

Dr. Kayode Fayemi

Since becoming Ekiti State Governor in 2010, Fayemi has greatly increased in influence in Nigeria’s politics after losing his re-election to Ayo Fayose in 2014.

From becoming a minister, Fayemi won a second term ticket as Ekiti State governor going on to become the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Fayemi is relying solely on his status as Chairman of Governors’ Forum and the solidarity of his colleagues to swing the APC presidential ticket in his favour.

If given the APC ticket, Fayemi has what it takes to garner support across the country with the influence he has among fellow governors and politicians across the country. How well he can count on his colleagues will be tested at the convention.

Mr. Rotimi Amaechi

If there is any Nigerian who has been in the political space since the return to civil rule, that has to be Rotimi Amaechi. He was Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years, governor for another eight years and until 3 weeks ago, a minister in the powerful Ministry of Transportation, a position he held for 7 years.

His influence grew after he became chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, eventually leading four of his colleagues in walking out of the PDP’s national convention, before joining the APC. He was the Director General of Buhari’s campaign in 2015 and 2019.

Amaechi’s records as Minister of Transportation has boosted his chances of getting the APC ticket and indeed winning the election, as he is credited with the growth and expansion that the country has experienced in the rail sector. He was recently turbaned as a traditional Chief in Daura, the home town of President Buhari. He has projected himself as the annointed choice of the President.

Engr. David Umahi

With the agitation from the South East for a President from the region, David Umahi provides one of the surest options for a part of Nigeria that has only had a 6 months shot at the apex job. As governor of Ebonyi State in the last 7 years, Umahi has brought massive improvement to the state, getting accolades from President Buhari and the Vice President Osinbajo during their separate visits.

Even while he was in the PDP, Umahi maintained a cordial relationship with President Buhari and is seen as one of the governors who has the ears of the President.

If ever Umahi gets the ticket, he will surely get support from the South East, who will see it as an opportunity to finally rule the nation since 1966.

Dr. Ahmed Lawan

With the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the candidate of the PDP, APC picking a candidate from the North can’t be ruled out. Though APC governors from the North have formally endorsed power shift to the South, Lawan has not formally withdrawn from the race.

As Senate President, Lawan is sure to have support from his colleagues who would want one of them to become Nigeria’s president. He is also from the North East, a zone that has never produced President before. He has also been endorsed by former Abia State governor and many South East politicians, who see him as their greatest chance of laying hold of power in the next eight years.

With the way he has gotten the National Assembly to be on the same page with President Buhari after the Bukola Saraki-led Senate in the first term, Lawan is expected to enjoy the trust of Mr. President.

However, many political pundits have said Lawan does not pose any threat to the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar in the North because he does not have any political pedigree outside his Senatorial District in Yobe State.