Elder statesman and immediate past secretary-general of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr Anthony Sani, has said the All Progressives Congress may win the 2023 presidential election because certain factors are working for them.
According to Sani, his forecast is based on some political dynamics considering the fact that the southern governors want a power shift.
“As I have pointed out several times, I am not a psychologist. But as a “street politician”, I can hazard some forecast based on the dynamics in the political cockpit.
“Southern governors and their socio-political platforms have resolved to vote only presidential candidates from the South on grounds that it is the turn of the South to produce the president from the south to succeed President Buhari. One can say the southern votes will be shared among presidential candidates from the south, largely between Bola Tinubu of APC and Mr Peter Obi of Labour party.
“In the North, because the 15 APC governors largely caused the emergence of Tinubu in the primaries, it stands to reasons for one to believe the votes in the North will be shared among Tinubu of APC because of APC governors, former VP Atiku of PDP and Kwankwaso of NNPP.
“And when you consider the fact that both Peter Obi and Kwankwaso came from PDP, their emergence has reduced any sturdy position of PDP in the sumo ring, “Sani said.
Speaking further, the elder statesman said:
“And when you factor in the lingering feuds in PDP which casts doubt on the party’s claim to rescuing Nigeria at war with itself when the party cannot rescue itself from itself, and there is also the fear in some quarters that a president Peter Obi could play Gorbachev who presided over the collapse of Soviet Union, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that it will be Tinubu who will most likely meet the constitutional requirements of majority votes and spread to emerge as the victor in the presidential elections. ”
Regarding the concerns about the undue influence of state governors on politics, Sani said given the nature of politics and how power affects ideals, added that: “how power affect people in power and also how power affects people upon whom power is exercised, the only way to checkmate the executive power of governors and make them accountable is for Nigerians to make judicious use of their democratic right and ensure that votes count so that the ensuing leaders will be accountable to the voters democracy can be used to check the political behaviors of the governors.”
