Why Tinubu dumped Buhari
for Tambuwal
Team Tinubu, the camp of the national
leader of the All Progressives Congress,
APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was
compelled by some former Nigerian
leaders and Northern Islamic leaders to
drop its support for the 2015
presidential aspiration of Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Saturday
Vanguard,Reflective of the pressure
which also came from some close
associates of Asiwaju Tinubu, the
political group has switched support
towards the presidential aspiration of
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal who with his
entry this week, immediately turned into
a major contender for the ticket.
He has Buhari and former Vice-President
Atiku Abubakar as the main challengers
for the party’s presidential ticket with
Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano
State and newspaper publisher, Sam
Nda-Isaiah also contending.
Several other factors were taken into
consideration by the Tinubu camp in
switching support, close associates of the
political leader disclosed to Saturday
Vanguard. Among the other factors was
the alleged overbearing influence of
some close associates of Gen. Buhari,
who they claimed were likely to fence
out other political stakeholders in a
possible Buhari presidency.
Three former heads of state, two from
the north and one from the south and a
very influential retired army chief from
the northeast who has also held political
appointments in the present
dispensation were among those cited by
sources as having prevailed on the
Tinubu camp to drop support for Buhari.
The decision of the Tinubu camp to drop
support for Buhari, it was learnt, also
followed reservations from some sections
of the north notably, some Islamic
leaders.
“It is not that we dumped Buhari, the
Islamic clerics, the imams and the
political leaders in the north particularly
three former heads of state said that they
don’t want the man,” the source said.
President Olusegun Obasanjo and a
former military president Gen. Ibrahim
Babangida met penultimate Tuesday
following the latter’s return from a
medical trip abroad. The two men met
for 30 minutes behind closed doors.
However, Gen Baban-gida had in the
past been publicly quoted as urging
Speaker Tambuwal to aspire for a higher
office. Speaking at the presentation of
the Vanguard Personality of the Year
award to Governor Chibuke Amaechi of
Rivers State in Lagos on April 6, 2013,
the former military president said:
“When leaders like Tambuwal delivered
on their electoral promise, we advise
them to try something higher. For
Tambuwal, your guess is as good as
mine. Well done.” Babangida’s remark
was applauded. .
The influence of some present and past
minders of Gen. Buhari was also another
reason taken into consideration, a
source disclosed.
“There is this perception about Buhari
that he is surrounding himself with some
people like Nasir El-Rufai, Buba
Galadima, Sule Hamman” the source
said, reawakening complaints about the
overbearing attitude of Buhari’s now
dissolved political machine, The Buhari
Organisation, TBO which had in the past
been accused of selectively fencing out
people.
The Tinubu associates also feared that
the perceptions of religious extremism
which the ruling party, Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP had sought to tag
on Buhari could deny the party votes in
the South were he to emerge as
candidate.
Though many of the Tinubu associates do
not regard him as an extremist, but the
perception already created, it was
learned, could be injurious to their
political outing. There were also
concerns that Buhari could be detached
from responsibility and reference was
made to his past roles as head of state
and chairman of the Petroleum (Special)
Task Force, PTF where his subordinates
usurped authority in his name.
“When he was head of state most of the
power was delegated to Idiagbon and
when he was at PTF, it was another
person, that took charge and that if APC
says they are looking for change that
Tambuwal represents that change,” an
associate of Tinubu revealed.
No comments:
Post a Comment