Kogiflame
Strong indications have emerged that the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, may not get his wish to emerge as the All Progressives Congress’ presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
According to a report by Tribune newspaper, there are speculations that power brokers in the APC have agreed on a power-sharing formula ahead of the next general election.
Tribune also gathered that the Presidency and the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) are the two forces that may get to decide who gets what, as regards the position of the National Chairman and the presidential ticket.
The APC Governors are reportedly scheming to ensure that the Vice Presidential candidate of the ruling party is of Northeast extraction.
It is believed that the former Governors of Borno State, Kashim Shettima and Ali Modu Sheriff as well as the current Governor of the State, Babagana Zulum are being considered for this position
This article will analyze why the ceding of the vice-presidential slot to the North-East zone may be game over for Yahaya Bello’s 2023 presidential ambition
If the North produce the vice presidential candidate and the National Chairman, the South will automatically be favoured to produce the presidential candidate
Governor Yahaya Bello who publicly declared his intention to contest for the highest office in the Land under the APC is at loggerheads with Abdullahi Sule the Governor of Nasarawa State, and Abubakar Sani Bello the Governor of Niger State over their push for the office of the National Chairman to be zoned to the North Central. This is because he believes that such an arrangement would jeopardize his presidential ambition.
Unfortunately, the recent development where all 7 ex-governors who have indicated interest to contest for the position of the National Chairman are from the North East, North West, and North Central geo-political zones, gives credence to the speculations that the powers that be in the APC have already agreed that the North should produce the next National Chairman ahead of the party’s convention scheduled to take place in February
This, coupled with the APC Governors’ plot to ensure that the Northeast produces the vice-presidential candidate in 2023, only points to one thing which is that the APC power brokers are planning to cede the party’s presidential ticket to the South. With this Yahaya Bello may have to kiss goodbye his dream of clinching the APC 2023 presidential ticket
Tribune
