The All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to have internal peace, with Presidential ticket contestants giving all their support to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is the impression that the Chairman of the North-West Zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, says.
According to him, all the aspirants who lost the presidential ticket to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu are working for him. They are giving him their support ahead of the February 25 polls.
The party’s chieftain made the claim in a statement he entitled: “Electoral contests and public expectations: Matching hopes with realities”.
According to Lukman, Tinubu’s emergence as the flag bearer of the party was a product of an internal party contest.
United Behind Tinubu
He battled against 21 other contestants and won fair and square, he said.
According to him, “one of our prides today in APC is that after the convention that produced Asiwaju Tinubu as our presidential candidate, none of the aspirants who contested against him left the party.
“Instead, all of them are united behind him and are working for his victory.
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“It may also be important to note that the emergence of Asiwaju Tinubu as APC’s presidential candidate was the product of strong internal contest.
Consensus Candidate Of The APC
There may be temptation to narrow the contest to the dynamics around some questions.
First, would there have been an anointed aspirant who would have been crowned as the consensus candidate, which wouldn’t have been Asiwaju Tinubu?
“The reality was that the contest for the choice of APC presidential candidate started way back during the tenure of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman of the party.
“At that time, the issue confronting the party was that of broadening the internal democratic space within the party.
“Issues of accountability of party leaders under the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee to members were the challenges.
“Meetings of organs of the party such as National Executive Committee, National Caucus and Board of Trustees were the key challenge.
“At that time in 2019, there were attempts to suggest that many of us raising these issues were doing so because we were opposed to the emergence of Asiwaju Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of the party.
“But thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari’s unbiased disposition.
“Eventually, Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC was dissolved. A caretaker committee under the leadership of His Excellency Mai Mala was appointed. They had a short mandate of six months,” he added.
In March 2022, APC held a national convention to elect a presidential candidate and Tinubu won with 1,271 votes.
Other contestants were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Rotimi Amaechi and others.
