Baring any last minutes political recalculation, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and General Muhammadu Buhari will slog it out at the Presidential primaries of the All Progressive Congress, APC, ahead of the 2015 Presidential elections.
APC leaders are reportedly considering zoning the Presidency to the Northwest and mulling zoning the running mate to the South East. The Chairmanship of the party might be zoned to the Southwest, Pointblanknews.com has been reliably informed.
Immediate past Governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau is also in the race but will face a stiff opposition from the camp of General Muhammadu Buhari. The duo of Mallam El Rufai and Nuhu Ribadu lost out of consideration because they are said to have no solid political structure to withstand the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, whose party, the All Progressive grand Alliance, APGA, is still controversially linked with APC, is being considered for the Vice Presidency slot, a reliable source knowledgeable with the thinking and calculation of the emerging opposition party, toldPointblanknews.com.
Okorocha is
being considered for the VP slot to entice and compensate the South East voters.
The Imo State Governor has already assured the leadership of APC of his ability to deliver the South East to the party in 2015.
Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu who is expected to supply the war chest for the 2015 elections is eyeing the Senate Presidency and he is expected to take over the seat currently being occupied by his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, a source told Pointblanknews.com in Lagos.
Tinubu, a very wealthy politician and former Lagos State Governor who is noted for funding most of the election of members of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has also promised to provide the funding for APC, a source said.
The source hinted that overtures made by senior members of the APC to stop General Mohammed Buhari from running for the Presidency failed. The retired General who has contested and failed in three Presidential elections, a source said, insisted on testing his acceptability once again in 2015. He will be 73 in 2015.
General Buhari at a recent interview said he could still contest the Presidential elections in 2015 if called upon to do so by members of the APC.
“Since I am in the new party as a member, if after consultations they included me among their aspirants, I will not reject their offer. This is what I want people to know. I want people to be patient with what we are doing now. They should allow the merger to succeed first. I am sure the new party leaders will know those that are relevant and saleable to Nigerians electorate,” he said.
Although Speaker Tambuwal is of the PDP but current political wrangling within the ruling party could make the Sokoto born politician consider the offer if it is eventually narrowed to him, a source hinted.
The source noted that Tambuwal has always been in the good books of the opposition because of his “cordial relationship” with members of the opposition Parties in the House and the support he got from them to emerge as the Speaker.
“They trust him and they simply believe that it is just a matter of time if he is well approached, he can ditch the PDP anytime and join APC,” the source said.
A source confirmed to Pointblnaknews.com that after series of meeting with some leadership of the APC, the Speaker appears willing to dump the PDP and join the APC to contest the Presidential elections in 2015.
“From outcome of our meetings with him and some of his political friends, we are confident he will join us. But as a politician, we believe he is still weighing his options and we respect that,” a top APC member told Pointblanknews.com.
The source said as soon as the Speaker accepts to join APC and run for the Presidency, its leadership will try once more to persuade General Buhari to allow the party to adopt Tambuwal.
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