Buhari's re-election and APC's 2023 Headache

The re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the just concluded election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, did not come without a serious fight by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party, even though the APC Presidential Flag bearer won with wider margin compared to the 2015 poll.                                      

Loyalists and supporters of the APC will attest to the scare PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar caused them while results of Ondo, Oyo and Edo States were being announced, before results of Kano, Katsina, Bornu and other core Northern States ( North West and North East) trickled in for the final tabulation and eventual announcement of President Buhari by INEC as winner.

The internal crisis of the APC, particularly in states like Ondo, Imo and Ogun may have influenced the seeming good showing of PDP at the Presidential / National Assembly Polls.

While the ruling APC may be savouring its victory at the just concluded Presidential election, the party should be wary of its repeated poor outing in the South -Eastern part of the country and no fewer than two states in the South -West, even though it made reasonable improvement in the South -South States in terms of votes garnered for President Buhari.                                          

The crux of this piece however, is the challenge All Progressives Congress, APC will face as regards the geopolitical region the party will zone its Presidential ticket to in 2023.

This decision will even be more difficult if Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is from the South -West and enjoys wide appeal, indicates interest to run for President in 2023.

Despite the fact that APC National leadership hasn't made any firm commitment that it will zone the Presidential position to the South -East in 2023, leaders of the party in that region are upbeat about their chances, but the dismal votes recorded in the South -East by Buhari during the recent poll amid reports of his improving acceptance by the Igbos, may work against Igbo Presidency in 2023 under the APC platform.                                            

It is only rational that come 2023, the Northern part of the country ( based on North / South Polarization) will concede the Presidency to the South (whether APC, PDP or any other surviving political party).                                          

Whether the North concedes power to the South or not, the ruling All Progressives Congress  will have herculean task on the choice of who to nominate as its Presidential Candidate in 2023, because finding a candidate who can pull massive votes in the core North like President Muhammadu Buhari and still win appreciable votes in other geopolitical zones across the country, may be near impossible task.                                
                  Editor-In-Chief

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