The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, which began on Tuesday and lasted till the early hours of Wednesday, was characterised by drama as aspirants stepped down for a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Although the convention proper was supposed to have commenced at 3.30pm based on the programme of events, it did not begin until about 7:40pm when the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), arrived.
Although 21 aspirants were in the race, contestants including Governor Kayode Fayemi; ex-Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio; a former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun; Senator Ajayi Boroffice; the Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, stepped down for Tinubu.
A presidential aspirant, Nicholas Felix, who stepped down for Osinbajo said the party could not have a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
In his welcome address, the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, called for a compromise to be reached on all fronts.
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The APC national chairman disclosed that it is the bedrock of democracy, which everybody including delegates and aspirants should not be afraid to imbibe.
He stated, ‘We cannot continue to make our choice out of sentiments or other primordial considerations. That will only invoke in us a wrong choice that we might regret.
‘In the course of this decision making, we need to be called upon to make compromises to achieve our goals and objectives as a party.
‘Democracy, by its nature, permits such compromises in the spirit of give and take. Indeed, no human society can survive without compromises.
‘Let us, therefore, not be afraid of making them with clear conscience and sense of responsibilities,’ he urged.
The party gave aspirants opportunity to address the delegates. An APC stalwart and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, said he was the right person for the party.
He stated, “I sincerely believe that I am the right person this moment calls for. I have the experience, I led the transformation of Lagos from a dangerous, unweloming place to a clean, safe and vibrant place and the fifth largest economy in Africa today. I am a serious man with a serious purpose and I will use all that I know and all my abilities to benefit our people. I’m a unifying leader. I have constructed a formidable structure, one that has delivered electoral victory after electoral victory. I step forward because I believe I can lead our party towards the brightest future.
“I have expertise, my record of corporate leadership, my financial expertise, my experience as an executive governor of Lagos make me unique among all other aspirants, giving me the requisite skill to accelerate the progressives reform that will change the face of our national economy. I cannot on this day talk about a brighter and prosperous future without declaring my determination to fight terrorism and insecurity to the very end. I mourn the lives already lost and want to do everything possible to ensure justice and forever erase terror from our land.
How Akpabio, Amosun, Fayemi, Bankole, Boroffice, Badaru, others stepped down for Tinubu
The immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, surprised the gathering as the first aspirant to step down.
Akpabio, who boasted of 93 delegates from Akwa Ibom State, publicly asked them to vote for Tinubu.
He said, ‘I have seen a man who is older than me and who was the first visionary in governance and that man enabled us to have good governance and development in Lagos State.’
The former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs added that he had so many things he would have loved to say about his manifesto but would rather support the next President with the ideas.
He said, ‘I will join the next President to turn the boys in Nigeria into men. And, therefore, I duff my heart and urge that as I withdraw now, vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.’
Also in their speeches, Jigawa State governor, Borrofice, and Bankole also stepped down for the former Lagos State Governor.
But a former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, who announced his withdrawal from the race on Monday, called for a review of the Constitution to address the issue of federal character.
He said, ‘Today’s convention suddenly has changed. It is no longer based on the zoning principle. I will suggest strongly that we take a second look at the constitution, the area that concerns federal character which gives all parts of Nigeria equal opportunity to feel like an integral part of the country.’
A presidential aspirant, Nicholas Felix, who stepped down for Osinbajo, said the party cannot have a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Delivering his speech, former Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, argued that the South-East should produce President Buhari’s successor.
