THE sudden entry into the presidential race by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, may have jolted his friends and associates in the red chamber and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Southern part of the country, but Northern brokers privy to his aspiration are not taken aback, Nigerian Tribune investigations have revealed.
A party source said Lawan’s aspiration was the North reaction to the move by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to push its ticket to the North. The source also noted that it was a silent rebuff to certain tendencies in the ruling party squealing against marginalisation and agitating for power shift to the South.
A leading aspirant in the main opposition party is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who incidentally is from the North East state of Adamawa.
Further checks revealed that there has been growing agitation also in the North that the North-East which produced the former Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa has been in the lurch for long while the NorthWest and North-Central have produced successive civilian and military Heads of State for the nation.
“The North may want to use Lawan to make case for the North-East which has also not produced president, like South-East. After Tafawa Balewa, it has always been North-West, right from Sheu Shagari to Umar Musa Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari.”
The source could not confirm if the President of the Senate aspiration enjoys the blessings of the sitting President, Muhammadu Buhari.
“Almost all of them from the North, including his Ministers who have visited the Villa prior to their declaration came out to say they have secured his endorsement,” Nigerian Tribune source said.
The Senate buy-in
Checks revealed that Lawan’s ambition enjoys the support of a sizeable number of principal officers of the Senate who are his confidants and belong to his inner cabinet.
The list includes Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi; chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Barau Jubrin; Senator representing Niger East and former aspirant for office of national chairman,Sani Musa; Deputy Chief Whip and Senator representing Niger North, Sabi Abdullahi; former Abia State governor and Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu.
A National Assembly source told Nigerian Tribune that Lawan may be stranded at the home front as governors from Northeast and Senators from the zone are indifferent to his aspiration. The source cited Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume and former Borno governor and Senator representing Borno Central, Kashim Shettima who have joined the campaign organisations of two aspirants from the Southern part of the country.
While Ndume is the Director-General of Amaechi campaign organisation, Senator Shettima is neck deep in Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu campaign organization and both are advocates of power shift to the South. According to the source, the former Gombe Governor and senator representing Gombe Central, Danjuma Goje who was forced to step down for Lawan in the uncertain days of power struggle for office of Senate President zoned to NorthEast, may not back Lawan in his latest ambition.
For the Southern Senators Forum, members had since aligned with the Forum of Southern Governors Forum, led by the Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu that the next president must come from the South. A former South-East governor and serving senator with eye on Senate presidency has, however, been drafted to secure the buy-in of his colleagues in the southern senators forum to secure support for Lawan.
A chieftain of the APC, who incidentally is the chairman, National Stability Project, Sam Nkire, whose group purchased the form for Lawan told Nigerian Tribune in a telephone interview that the North-East is as marginalised as the South-East and needed to be placated. He argued that the NorthWest, North-Central, South-South and SouthWest have had their fair deal in the country on the issue of power rotation.
“PDP is most likely to go to the North to pick its candidate. APC is not in politics to lose. The PDP that has zoning in its constitution has jettisoned it. The APC has not breached any agreement because zoning is not in its constitution. I am from the South and I am for Igbo presidency but it isn’t feasible now. When something isn’t feasible, you don’t go on pushing for it.
“For me, it is the turn of the North-East. I will rather vote for a North Easterner because it is the North East and South-East that have not produced president of Nigeria. The North-West, South-West and SouthSouth have had their fair share. So, I won’t waste my time, I will rather align with North East.
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Will APC governors surrender to Lawan?
The forum of governors on the platform of the APC is already divided on the choice of candidates for 2023 presidency.
Three governors from the South have formally declared interest in the party ticket: Dave Umahi, Kayode Fayemi and Ben Ayade, governors of Ebonyi, Ekiti and Cross Rivers states respectively.
Outside the zone, two from the North have purchased expression of inter- est and nomination forms: Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello from same NorthCentral zone as the party national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and his Jigawa State counterpart, Governor Muhammed Abubakar Badaru.
Badaru is from the North-West and his colleagues in the Southern Governors Forum are already expressing strong reservation for his ambition. Senator Lawan’s immediate region of North-East, two serving governors, Professor Babagana Zulum and Mai Mala Buni of Borno and Yobe states, respectively have been mentioned as scheming to be running mates to certain presidential hopefuls from the South.
An aide to Yobe governor told Nigerian Tribune in confidence that his principal was not privy to Lawan’s aspiration, saying “we don’t really know those who are pushing for him.
Ripples in PDP over Lawan’s bid for presidency
Meanwhile, there were strong indications last night that the bid by the president of the Senate for the presidency is already having a ripple effect on the PDP.
This, Nigerian Tribune learnt, was because of the belief in some circles that the aspiration of Lawan has the connection of some powerful forces within the corridors of powers.
The move was said to be part of the game plan by a section of the northern political establishment, in concert with a clique in government, to checkmate the growing advocacy for a president of southern extraction in 2023.
The plot, which a high-level source described as a hidden agenda, is said to have changed the permutations among some leading aspirants from the South seeking the ticket of PDP for next year’s presidential election in the country.
A couple of the said aspirants are said to be considering what the source called Plan B, which includes the possibility of becoming the running mate of whoever might emerge from the North as the candidate of the PDP.
The list of aspirants from the South include a former president of the Senate and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; a former Anambra State governor and vice presidential candidate of PDP in the 2019 poll, Mr Peter Obi; Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and his counterpart in Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, as well as a boardroom guru, Chief Sam Ohuabunwa. PDP has screened and cleared of them along with their counterparts from the North to contest at the primary at the end of the month.
The source said the thought for the Plan B was also informed by signs that PDP may have tactically influenced APC power brokers to go back to the drawing board for the possibility of the party settling for a northerner as its candidate for the election.
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