President Muhammadu Buhari will reveal his preferred presidential aspirant among those vying to succeed him on the APC platform in May, according to a presidential source who spoke to Sunday Punch.
According to the source, the President is carefully examining the candidates’ attitudes, actions, backgrounds, and other factors before making a decision or instructing his closest advisers on who to queue behind among them.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; his Ebonyi State counterpart, David Umahi; a former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Kalu; and an ex-governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha have all made it clear that they want to succeed the President whose second term ends on May 29, 2023.
Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, are among those said to have presidential ambitions in the party but have not yet declared their intentions.
Buhari had voiced concern that revealing the identity would “eliminate” his preferred presidential contender.
However, a source close to the presidency claimed that Buhari would never allow all of the APC presidential candidates to enter the race without first consulting him.
“Did you see how he handled the party chairmanship race? he asked. Was it a brawl? No, it was not the case. At the right time, the President understands what to do. The man who is now the party’s national chairman was not even in the race at the start. And he stated as much when he took office. About a month before the election, he said he had never been interested,” the source said.
