Opposition forces within the All Progressives Congress are reportedly considering the consensus method in choosing its presidential flag bearer in the forthcoming 2023 general elections in order to drown the presidential ambition of a former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the party, Bola Tinubu.

Top sources in the party said the plot became imperative because of Tinubu’s seeming supremacy among other presidential aspirants which put him in a commanding position to emerge as the party’s candidate.

Sources, however, revealed that the main obstacle to him is his health which is outside the control of men.

According to Vanguard, the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, had proposed the use of consensus as a way of fencing off what he described as moles from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

But pro-Tinubu forces have vehemently opposed the gesture, especially in Ekiti where Senator Tola Adeniyi, chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023 (SWAGA) raised his opposition last Thursday.

The proposal for consensus in choosing party officials and candidates according to other party sources followed the realisation by those opposed to the former Lagos State governor that he, (Tinubu), could not be easily stopped in a free and fair contest.

Tinubu, it was gathered, has made strong inroads into North-West and North-East states with heavy delegates’ count.

Sources say that the Tinubu camp is especially strong in Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Borno states that are known to be rich in delegates.

A party source was quoted as saying,

The constitution of the APC provides that serving and former members of the National Assembly are statutory delegates and this means that all former lawmakers from 1999 are automatic delegates.

You can see that Tinubu is very strong in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Borno and these are states that have a rich base of delegates for the convention and most of them are aligned towards Tinubu.

It was gathered that the Tinubu camp is doing well in the South-South especially in Akwa Ibom and Delta states.

However, the strong challenge he has in Akwa Ibom is Akpanudoedehe, the secretary of the CECPC who was until recently, famously known to belong to his camp.

In the absence of Akpanudoedehe, Tinubu is said to have mobilised an alternative organization with a focus on reaping from the state which has the highest number of Local Government Areas in the South-South.

However, the adoption of the consensus method it was gathered, could see Tinubu being shoved aside by powerful interests around the presidency determined to stop him through influencing the choice of party officials and delegates that would be automatic delegates in the national convention.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.