THE stage appears set for a titanic battle between two political allies and friends: Senator Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively for the 2023 presidential election.
This followed the emergence of Senator Tinubu as the winner of the two-day presidential primary of the ruling APC held at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
In a congratulatory message to Atiku shortly after he clinched the ticket of the main opposition PDP last week, Tinubu had expressed confidence of his picking that of the APC to set the stage for an epic clash at the February 25 presidential poll.
Both politicians had worked together under the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) ahead of the 2011 general election when Atiku, a former vice president, left the PDP.
Nigerian Tribune observed that after months of anxiety, intrigues and apprehension within its ranks, APC finally conducted its presidential convention with Tinubu, who is a former Lagos State governor, emerging as its standard bearer. In an election that was contested by 13 other aspirants, the former Lagos State governor scored the highest score of 1,271 votes, defeating his “closest” rival, Rotimi Amaechi, who scored 316.
Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo who had rebuffed pressures on him by certain leaders of the party in the South-West to withdraw from the race, came a distant third.
He scored 235 votes.
Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, whose pronouncement as consensus candidate by the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had since polarised its national working committee struggled to pick 142 votes.
Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, who had distanced himself from the resolution of other 13 APC governors from the North who recommended power shift to the South, polled 47 votes.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that Governor Bello’s votes fell short of the total number of the 63 delegates from his state.
According to the Kebbi State governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who was the chairman of the election planning committee, the total number of accredited delegates was 2,118. A total of 13 votes were voided.
Bagudu later pronounced Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the APC having polled the largest number of votes.
With his victory, the former Lagos State governor is set for a political duel with his long political associate and erstwhile chieftain of the APC, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who had emerged as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
In his acceptance speech, Tinubu expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari who he noted insisted on due process for the emergence of the party flag bearer. He commended the delegates for finding him worthy of the ticket while he applauded the governors for remaining steadfast when the process was threatened.
He said, “We have been at historic Eagle Square for many hours such that day has turned into night and night back into day.
“Because of your democratic exertion, this convention shall be recorded as a shining moment in the evolution of our party and the life of our nation.
“I must thank you all for making me the standard bearer of our progressive party. And I humbly accept the nomination of this convention to be the presidential candidate of our enlightened, humanitarian and great party, the All Progressives Congress.
“I also offer my sincere gratitude to President Buhari for his calm and prudent leadership throughout this process. I thank him, also, for his steadfast determination to ensure a level playing field and a free and fair primary process for every aspirant. Without him, I would not be standing here today as the new flag bearer of our party.
“I thank the governors for their invaluable contribution to internal democracy and unity.
“I commend the party leadership and organizers for the conduct of a successful convention.”
For the nine aspirants who mounted the podium on Tuesday night to announce their withdrawal from the race and further appealed to delegates to vote for him, the former Lagos State governor thanked them for subordinating their aspirations to accommodate his ambition.
“I commend my fellow aspirants. It is a difficult thing to run for president. The stiff and bold competition you offered made our party stronger and made me better. I must say a special word of thanks to the seven aspirants: Alhaji Badaru Abubakar; Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Senator Ajayi Borrofice; Hon. Dimeji Bankole; Senator Godswill Akpabio; Kayode Fayemi; and Uju Kennedy, who chose to step down their personal ambitions for the good of the party and the unity of our purpose.
“You chose to step down through conviction that I will do a better job, not because you denigrate yourself but because you believe I am a thinker and a doer .Those who didn’t support me, you have nothing to fear. Let us join hands to beat PDP and their retrogressive understanding of Nigeria.”
Tinubu called on the leadership of the PDP and its candidate to be prepared for a tough political battle as he dismissed the main opposition party’s threat to take the central government in next general elections as a huge joke.
“After the PDP convention, I commended Abubakar Atiku. The ensuing contest between our party and his will be one of competing visions.
“Our vision is of progress and the future that can be. We must defeat the PDP’s reactionary ideals.
“Our better, more progressive vision of Nigeria shall secure a better society for all Nigerians.
“May this be our task arising from this convention. Let nothing stand in the way of our achieving a more just society and a greater Nigeria