November 1, 2021

President Muhammadu Buhari played host to a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Sunday.

The meeting was said to be a private one but Aso Rock insiders said the duo dwelt much on the fate of the APC following the many factions that held different congresses recently.

On October 16, the APC congress nationwide produced different factional executives in many states. Lagos, Osun, Delta, Enugu among others had parallel congresses with outcomes that have polarized the party in the respective states.

Tinubu’s visit coming hours after the conclusion of the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, convention which went on smoothly in Abuja, was said to be a strategy meeting between the two most prominent figures in the APC.

Opposition PDP had conducted a seamless convention using consensus to fill most of the positions. The convention produced Senator Iyorcha Ayu as Chairman after an Appeal Court had dismissed an appeal filed by the party’s estranged former Chairman, Uche Secondus.

The APC is staking a continuity claim in the 2023 Presidential election but it is currently split between two opinions on the matter of zoning the Presidency. Whereas many members of the APC favour zoning of the Presidential ticket to the South, some APC elements are vehemently opposing it, claiming that zoning was unconstitutional and likely to produce misfits as leaders.

Tinubu is one of the favourites to pick the APC ticket from the south. Already, several groups have started a campaign on his behalf but Tinubu is yet to make an official statement on whether he would run or not.