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By Chinelo Obogo
Following the meeting President Muhammadu Buhari had recently with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and the resolution of the party that political offices will be swapped between the North and the South, it has become almost a done deal that the presidential candidate of the party will come from the South. This report looks at what the outcome of this decision may be and the zone that may eventually clinch the ticket.
Aspirants
The decision of the APC to swap positions between the North and the South inadvertently means that whoever will clinch the ticket of the party would come from the South, since the party’s national chairman will come from the North. Before now, it was broadly accepted that the party will zone the presidency to the South after having President Muhammadu Buhari occupy the position for eight years, but the resolution made after President Buhari and the APC governors met, made this official.
Most of the APC members who have already indicated interest in contesting are all from the South, with the exception of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. Among those who have publicly declared their intention to contest and are from the South are former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Senator Rochas Okorocha and Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi. Though yet to declare their ambitions, it is strongly believed that the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefelie, from Delta State, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will contest for re-election on the platform of APC.
Zoning
As it stands, the three zones in the South are laying claim to the APC presidential ticket and giving valid reasons why it should get it. The South West argues that a gentleman agreement supposedly made at the inception of the party makes provision for the presidency to be zoned to it.
The Lagos APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, said in an interview with Daily Sun that zoning the party’s presidential ticket to the South West is a matter of conscience, morality, principle and a gentlemanly agreement that was made at the inception of this party.
“We are looking at a situation whereby at the appropriate time, the presidency will unfold. It is a matter of conscience, morality, principle and a gentlemanly agreement that was made at the inception of this party, that the presidency should come to the South and micro zoned to the South West. There are a lot of things that we don’t necessarily have to put in the constitution of a party. A whole lot of prominent people in the party and in the government have made it clear that it is the right and appropriate thing to do,” Oladejo said.
On the APC zoning the ticket to the South East, Oladejo argues that the zone has never supported the APC the way it supports the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hence it would not be strategic for the APC to zone the top position to the South East.
“If the PDP would want to lay any claim to fair play and justice, their presidential ticket should be zoned to the South East because since 1999, the zone has been very loyal and committed to the party. We can safely conclude here that the South East is for the PDP, so if there is a party that should consider the South East, it should be the PDP. You will agree with me that the South West, led by Tinubu wrestled the power from the then ruling party; we should expect as a matter of right that the presidential ticket should be zoned to the South West because we have earned it,” Oladejo said.
But those making a case for the South East argue that the zone has not produced a president since 1999, hence, for justice and equity, it should be supported to have it. Governor Umahi, who in January declared his intention to contest for the presidency, said in an interview with Arise TV that given the “sentiment being expressed by all the sectors of the society”, APC should zone its presidential ticket to the South-East “to enable the nation move forward”.
He said, “Nobody is saying, ‘if you don’t zone it to the South East, the nation will not move forward’, but I think that if a nation is built on equity and fairness, then there is going to be progress and prosperity. So you can understand that I’m new in the house and whatever happens in terms of my desire and that of the South East is a favour.”
Those who are pushing for the APC to zone the party to the South South are divided among the camps of Amaechi, (who has already declared his intention) Jonathan and Emefelie. A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and long standing political associate of Jonathan, Dikivie Ikiogha is one of those championing a single term for a South- south Presidency in 2023 on the premise that the geo-political zone was pushed out of power when Jonathan was defeated in the 2015 presidential election. He told Daily Sun in an interview that Nigeria owes the South-south region one term of four years to complete the eight years due the region. He argued that a single term of four years by South-south in 2023 and another eight years of North from 2027-2035 would make the North and South have an equal number of years at the helm of affairs beginning from 1999.
For Amaechi, the convener of Coalition of Northern Youth for Good Governance, a member of the Amaechi support group, Mr. Abdullahi Bilal, said that the recent turbaning of the Transport minister in Daura, the president’s hometown is an indication that he has Buhari’s blessings. He said Buhari, who sent Minister of Water Resources, Sulaiman Adamu; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and his presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu to represent him at the event, congratulated Amaechi saying he deserved the honour “for working with enormous energy to make the change we promised Nigerians a reality.” Therefore, according to Bilal, “Amaechi has demonstrated his disposition to the oneness and unity of Nigeria through his advocacies concerning the indivisibility of Nigeria.”
Like Amaechi, the CBN governor, Emefelie’s supporters say that besides his experience in the banking sector, the fact that he is from Ika South in Agbor, Delta State in the South South, gives him an added advantage and may help calm those insisting on an Igbo presidency. Even though the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador George Obiozor, warned political parties against shortchanging the South East and advised that whichever part of the country that produces the next president would send a conspicuous message to the Igbo about their destiny in Nigeria, those promoting Emefelie, believe that his candidacy will unify the South South and the South East.
They also say that he is in the best position to sustain the legacy of the administration, having been involved in their reforms, conception, implementation and execution, as well as funding. The most important factor his supporters say is that if he is given the party’s ticket, he could manage the economy well and result into a fast recovery and return it to the path of growth and development. Besides their reasoning that his candidacy would solve the Igbo presidency problem, Emefelie’s supporters say that even though he was appointed by a PDP administration, the APC government not only found him fit enough but also went on to make him the first CBN governor in the Fourth Republic to win a second term. They dismiss criticism that Emefiele has deviated from the core role of sustaining monetary policy saying that the development functions of the CBN as espoused by the CBN governor were well covered by the new CBN Act of 2007. They also dismissed insinuations that Emefiele lacks a political structure to win any election, pointing out that he would be relying on God to make him president in 2023.
A coalition of civil society groups under the auspices of The Green Alliance (TGA), during its inaugural meeting held in Lagos recently said it believes that what the country needs is a candidate who has experience in steering the economy in the right direction, hence their call for Emefelie to join the race in 2023.
The Convener of TGA, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, said that besides spearheading bank policies and programmes that have led to job creation, Emefiele ensured stability of macro-economic concerns like inflation and exchange rate. He also stated that the CBN governor inspired the rice revolution that brought about the near zero importation of rice.
“Emefelie has been at the forefront of pushing for a diversification of Nigeria’s revenue base with emphasis on agriculture and growth of small businesses. We have done a little research about him which is why we feel he is the best man for the job. He was appointed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government but President Muhammadu Buhari, in his wisdom, retained him and that tells a lot about his capacity and managerial acumen.
“We want to move away from the norm of career politicians to a technocrat that has built a resilient financial system for Nigeria. We want him as President because he will be a bridge builder. He has pushed through measures that have halted importations and moved the nation’s agricultural sector to a great height,” Fapohunda said.
Some northern groups had in October 2021, under the Partnership for Peace and Community Development, PPCD, publicly identified with his economic and financial policies designed to protect the economy from collapse. The groups included the Arewa Youth Council (AYC), Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Northern Women Emancipation, (NEW), Arewa Youth Parliament (AYP) and the Arewa Youth Federation (AYF). The convener of PPCD, Muhammad Sada, had presented an address titled: “Partnership for Peace and Community Development in Appreciation of the Good Policies of CBN in the Area of Agriculture, Forex Policy and E-Naira.” He accused “some faceless individuals and groups of trying to malign, distract and discredit the hard earned reputation of CBN under Emefiele’s leadership.”
