Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has retaliated against his former political ally and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, for downplaying his power ahead of next year’s general election.
Lawal, who leads a group of northern Christian lawmakers, has endorsed Labour Party presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi in a statement and a recent television appearance.
The other faction, represented by former House of Representatives speaker Yakubu Dogara, quickly disassociated itself, claiming that the former SGF was on his own because negotiations were still underway.
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Only a week later, Dogara and his team endorsed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a development Tinubu referred to as “PDP adopting PDP.”
Speaking on a television show weekend, Lawal had said: “Tinubu is relying on people that are unreliable. He will not get 25 per cent in all the Hausa-Fulani states.
”Now that he has sidelined the Christians, he will lose Adamawa, Benue, etc. He can’t even count on the Yoruba votes.”.
Although the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, did not respond to Vanguard’s messages seeking the party’s position on Lawal’s statement, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Chief Spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, said Tinubu was in pole position to win the presidency with 40 million registered APC members.
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According to him, a combination of other factors, including APC’s 22 sitting governors and five “rebel governors” in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP will all work in favour of Tinubu.
He said: “40 million registered members; 22 sitting governors; absolute majority in the National Assembly; our candidate that ranks as the best governor in the last 23 years; the main opposition in total disarray with five rebel govs. Not on the ballot? The most ridiculous statement in 2022!”
Mr Bayo Onanuga, the APC PCC’s Director of Media and Publicity, called Lawal’s assertions “mere conjectures.”
He recommended the former SGF to overcome the schism in his own group before becoming involved in Tinubu’s business.
The coalition of northern Christian lawmakers, led by Lawal and former House Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, recently took distinct positions with reference to 2023.
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While the group is fully opposed to the same faith ticket of the APC, Lawal has, however, united with Mr Obi of the Labour Party, a position not backed by Dogara and others.
There were rumors that Dogara and his supporters in the group would support the presidential candidate of the country’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
Reacting to Lawal’s statement, Onanuga said: “Mere conjectures, very laughable projections. Asiwaju has never been on the ballot and lost any election.
”With 22 states under APC control, with incumbent President’s backing, with our hard work on the campaign trail and with the support of Almighty God, Asíwájú is heading for a landslide next February.
“Let Babachir deal first with the division in his renegade group, instead of pontificating on the outcome of the election.
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“This man, who is amplifying our religious difference with his gang, is from Hong LGA in Adamawa State. He could not make Buhari to win the council in 2019 election, even though we had a Christian with the Buhari ticket.”
Indeed, there were strong signs over the weekend that some APC strategists had advocated Lawal’s removal, but two factors have stymied the action.
One, strategists argue that he cannot be removed without the agreement of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is regarded as one of his “godfathers.”
The second reason is that those seeking his expulsion from the party do not have the support of Lawal’s ward executives in Hong LGA.
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“They want the process to emanate from the executives. As for Dogara, you had Asiwaju saying the other day that the man is no longer a member of the APC, that he had since resigned his membership of APC and joined the PDP. Dogara and the PDP have not denied that,” said a top party source.
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