Some disgruntled governors of the All Progressives Congress and prominent party members are working closely to take out their anger on President Muhammadu Buhari by plotting to stop his anointed candidates during the party’s primaries in May.
SaharaReporters gathered from trusted sources that the governors and top party members are angry over how Buhari imposed former Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Adamu, on them as national chairman of the APC despite their opposition to the move.
Buhari had insisted on a consensus candidate for the position of chairman rather than throwing the contest open for other interested persons to try their luck.
The emergence of Abdullahi had somewhat distorted plans earlier hatched by key elements within the party, including some governors to select key candidates of the APC ahead of the 2023 general elections.
As a result of this, the disgruntled elements within the ruling party, who are behind the latest plot, have vowed to “show” Buhari their “other” side during May’s highly anticipated primaries of the APC by insisting that all candidates running for elective positions including that of the President are made to participate in primaries rather than being selected by consensus as favoured by Buhari’s camp.
If the disgruntled elements within the APC eventually have their way, succeeding Buhari in office could become a lot harder for the likes of the ex-Lagos State governor and national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, who may be desperately hoping to be anointed by the President and pushed forward as a consensus candidate.
“A lot of secret meetings have been going underground to actualise the plans of those disgruntled to pay President Buhari back in his own coin.
“In fact, during a meeting held on Monday in Abuja where the issue came up again, a cleric who is scheming to be the running mate to Bola Tinubu was clearly heard complaining bitterly about the President’s decision to impose the new party chairman on them.
“He said many of them were not happy with Buhari and that they will show him during the primaries in May.
“He said a lot of them believe that the President was a weak man, who had lost his influence over the party because he only got one position out of the five he had wanted to impose on party leaders.
“The cleric disclosed at the meeting that some governors were planning to ‘show’ Buhari in May and that he had a discussion with Governor Fayemi of Ekiti State over the matter later that Monday.
“The governors said they are going to resist the imposition of any consensus presidential candidate on them by the President, that all candidates must face the primaries.
“The cleric, who spoke the minds of most aggrieved party leaders, further stated that Buhari was not as strong as he used to be, adding that the President was a man drowning in shame,” a source at the meeting told SaharaReporters.
Last week, Governor Fayemi was quoted at an event by some media platforms as saying that governors were not in support of the consensus arrangement as pushed forward by Buhari.
However, shortly after the news grabbed the headlines, Fayemi denied making such comments, insisting that there was no division within the APC to warrant such a talk from him.
But SaharaReporters reliably gathered that despite the denial by Fayemi, the plot against Buhari and his favoured candidates by aggrieved party elements has continued to thicken as those in this political camp are desperate to pay the President and his allies back in their own coin.
“Fayemi or other governors’ denial is just to cover up the real plot.
“They are not happy with the way Buhari has handled major issues within the party and are preparing to shock him in a big way when the primaries come in May,” the source added.
