• Osinbajo most favoured to emerge APC standard-bearer
By Marvellous Nyang
President Muhammadu Buhari and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The agenda of the meeting between the President and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not released, but as gathered, it issues discussed were related to the 2023 presidential election.
As authoritatively gathered, after the APC national leader informed the President about his intention to succeed him, developments that followed have shown that Buhari is not favourably disposed to Tinubu’s ambition.
Tinubu had sought different means to get Buhari’s attention after his bid to make the President attend a programme packaged for his recent 70th birthday in Lagos, failed, until this last move that he was granted an audience.
As reliably gathered, Tinubu had gone to seek President Buhari’s support ahead of the party’s decision on who to choose as the All Progressive Congress (APC) standard-bearer, following the fixing of May 30 and 31, 2022, as the date for its presidential primary election.
ALSO READ: 2023: Nigerians prefer Osinbajo to be President, Survey reveals
Among other APC aspirants, Tinubu is fighting over the APC presidential ticket with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who, it was said is the most preferred choice and best favoured by party delegates, and powerful stakeholders to succeed President Buhari, as reliably gathered from those at the centre of the power game.
Recalled Tinubu, on Friday, picked the ruling APC presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at the its national secretariat in Abuja.
James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, picked the forms for APC national leader, who had since informed the president of his presidential ambition in 2023.
Folake was accompanied by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and hundreds of members of the Tinubu Support Groups (TSG) to the party’s secretariat.
Also, Tinubu had recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where he performed the lesser hajj alongside some of his political associates and family members.
