2019: Buhari's Return Unsettles APC Leaders

 

 

There are indications that politicians, mostly from the northern part of the country, are presently jittery over the safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his medical sojourn in London, United Kingdom (UK).

 

Investigations revealed that following the prolonged stay of the president in London, some heavyweight politicians in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are jostling to succeed him should he fail to re-contest the 2019 election began scheming and opened consultations, but have suddenly slowed down.

 

A senior Presidency source, who prefers not to be quoted because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, told a correspondent at the weekend that most of the politicians are presently in shock over the president’s return and improving health.

 

Buhari, who left the country on May 7 for London on follow-up medical checks, spent 104 days and returned to Nigeria on August 19 amidst wild jubilation from his supporters.

 

The Presidency source confirmed that the uncertainty surrounding the issue of the president’s heath and his delayed return was exciting to some of the politicians who took advantage of the situation, believing that the coast had become clear for them.

 

They are actually confused of which next step to take,” he said. A correspondent gathered that last week’s visits to the president at the Presidential Villa by the leadership of both the PDP and APC, as well as governors of the 36 states of the federation, was deliberately arranged by Buhari’s handlers to prove to such politicians that he was fit.

 

Another source conversant with preparations for the two visits told New Telegraph that now that these politicians have seen for themselves significant improvement in the president’s health, they can decide whether to continue with their scheming or queue behind to support his government and forget 2019 for now.

 

National Chairmen, John Odigie-Oyegun (APC) and Ahmed Makarfi (PDP), on Friday, led their party caucuses on a courtesy visit to President Buhari over his return from London.

 

The governors were led by the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari. Some possible APC presidential hopefuls in 2019 from the North are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Senate President, Bukola Saraki; former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Governors Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Kashim Shettima (Borno) and Yari (Zamfara).

Meanwhile, one of the APC presidential hopefuls recently made overtures to PDP in the course of its recently held non-elective National Convention in Abuja.

 

A highly placed source told New Telegraph that the APC stalwart has already started talking with PDP over his imminent return to the party. He said: “One of the presidential aspirants of APC in 2019 has been making overtures to PDP in the light of the signals that he may not likely get the ticket in APC.

 

 

It was learnt that another presidential hopeful in APC wanted to bankroll the PDP convention held last year. An influential member of PDP confirmed that some loyalists of the APC leaders have been returning to PDP. “Alignment and other things are going on in PDP.

 

A lot of things are going on underground and we are making progress. “A notable presidential aspirant has started sending his people into PDP. One of his foot soldiers recently defected from APC to PDP in Kano,” he said. Also, New Telegraph has authoritatively learnt that the National Convention of PDP has been fixed for December 9.

 

It was gathered that aside the election of its National Chairman and other National Working Committee (NWC) members, the convention’s priority will also be to review its constitution, especially on issues bordering on litigations. Also, the party will, at the convention, tinker with its waiver requirement for new entrants and defectors seeking its ticket and political appointments.

 

Presently, the provisions on Waiver Section 50 (4 ) (7) in the PDP Constitution specified that new entrants into the party must complete minimum period of membership for seeking the party’s ticket and political appointment for two years and one year, respectively.

 

However, the proposed amendment at the convention is expected to unify the requirement to a period of six months. “This is to make way for some of the APC leaders that are returning to the PDP. We will grant waiver to the APC leaders so that they will be able to contest offices in 2019,” a former governor told New Telegraph.

 

National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, had confirmed in an interview with this newspaper that some of the party chieftains would leave for other parties.

 

“This is not the first time they have gone and come, we are watching. To take a fewer people away may affect the party, that is normal, but we are still receiving people into the party on a daily basis,” he had told New Telegraph.

 

Oyegun also told a correspondent that President Buhari remains the party’s best bet for the 2019 presidential election.

 

He said: “Whether the president seeks re-election or not, that is a decision only he (the president) can make. And when he makes it, in the unlikely event that he makes that decision, he is not just going to walk away. If Jonathan, a defeated president who wants to rule this country, can be talking about coming back or his party coming back, what of a very charismatic president, who even without money had 12 million votes behind him. So, the comparison is odious.