Tinubu’s Candidacy: Why Osinbajo, Amaechi, other presidential aspirants, boycotted APC reconcilliation parley

There seems to be no let in the foul feeling in the camp of asprirants who fought with Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the ticket of the party in next year’s presidential election, following the signals coming from the party.
In fact, the crashing of an attempt to get all the aspirants to attend a meeting on Wednesday aimed at boosting the party’s chances of victory, by mounting a united force, has given an indication of the division within, after most of the invitees, stayed away.
The meeting was hurriedly postponed by the conveners, who announced a few hours to its commencement, as non of the aspirants, apparently still hurting from the process, which produced Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, foretelling of the danger that could confront the party’s chances ahead of the crucial election that could be a make or mar event for the party.
The PUNCH, quotes one of the aspirants, Dr Nicolas Felix, in a statement on Monday, as saying that those who contested against the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu at the presidential primary, would converge on Abuja at 2 pm on Wednesday.
“We will also brainstorm on adopting winning campaign strategies to support our standard-bearer, Bola Tinubu, and seek to carry every Nigerian along in our bid to coast home to victory in the 2023 general elections.”
Felix who announced the meeting’s postponement, few hours before its commencement, however, did not give the reason for the cancellation of the roundtable, only saying in a statement: “Please be informed that the strategic meeting of 2023 Presidential Aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, scheduled to hold on Wednesday the 31st of August has been postponed.
“A new date for the meeting will be communicated soon. Apologies for any inconvenience(s) that this might cause.”
The aborted meeting sought to address a number of factors such as a conciliatory move to reconcile aggrieved members, challenges bedevilling the country, inclusive politics and adoption of winning campaign strategies to coast home to victory ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Among those expected were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Science and Technology Minister, Ogbonnaya Onu; former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio.
Five serving governors, namely Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) were also expected.
Others were the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; former Ogun State governor and serving senator, Ibikunle Amosun; a serving senator, Ajayi Boroffice; former Zamfara governor, Ahmad Sani; former Imo State governor and serving senator, Rochas Okorocha; a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; fiery cleric, Tunde Bakare; Pastor and Businessman, Dr Nicolas Felix; former Information Minister, Ikeobasi Mokelu; Businessman, Tein Jack-Rich and the only female among them, Uju Ken-Ohanenye.
One of the aspirants who abandoned the parley, who pleaded anonymity, was quoted as further disclosing that the body language of the presidential aspirants and some party members who participated in the presidential primary was clear.
“We can’t be seen converging for anything that has to do with Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate) at this critical moment. Not even when the presidential candidate himself is seeing the majority of us as not being instrumental to his winning the 2023 election. I must say Felix has tried his best. But it is not his duty to call for such a conciliatory meeting. That initiative was dead on arrival. Both the party and Asiwaju himself have a lot of work to do before the 2023 election.”
But another source disclosed that the event failed to hold because none of the aspirants showed up, noting that most of them were unhappy with Tinubu, while a source in the Tinubu campaign team, who said the convener did not have the mandate to convene the meeting, stressed: “He is on his own. Nobody told him to convene the meeting. He did not carry other aspirants along. The meeting is not pro-Tinubu meeting.”
(Whirlwindnews)