How Osinbajo’s quiet moves allegedly pressured Tinubu into hurried meetings with Buhari over 2023 presidency

But for Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo’s quiet moves towards the 2023 presidential election, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would not have rushed to Abuja to confer with President Muhammadu Buhari as of the time he did.

Tinubu first conferred with Buhari on October 31, 2021 on issues centering on the 2023 presidency.

He followed up with a second visit on Januaey 10, 2022 after Buhari’s interview with Channels Television wherein he said if he mentioned the person he would like to succeed him, the person would be eliminated.

Tinubu’s second visit was believed to have been made to clear his doubts that Buhari might not support him.

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President Buhari did not give Tinubu any assurance that he would give him support to succeed him just as it has yet to be known if any of the aspirants had received Buhari’s presidential endorsement as a successor-in-waiting.

THE CONCLAVE learnt that Tinubu had initially been largely excited over his presidential project coming unstuck.

For instance, the zoning of the Presidency to the South by the APC was a booster of sorts. Tinubu and his strategists believed that no other person in the party could muster political structure, nationwide reach and contacts as well as the financial war chest to beat him to the APC ticket.

They had dismissed Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo and the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi as insignificant in the calculations and permutations for the APC ticket in the South.

But not any more as the Vice-president has become a potential obstacle in the race for the APC presidential ticket.

Tinubu and his strategists did not give the Southeast zone a chance in the APC, dismissing, as it were, the aspiration of a former Abia State Governor and Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu.

The fact that the Southeast accounts for the least delegates’ votes has continued to feature in the calculations.

Whereas, the South-South has been a zone of concern to Tinubu’s strategists, they are closely watching the Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who is believed to be quietly oiling his presidential campaign machine preparatory to the gritty race for the APC ticket.

Amaechi last week sent across an emphatic message across the nation’s political landscape with his conferment with the title of Dan Amanar Daura by the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar Faruk.

But THE CONCLAVE learnt that whereas all the politicking initially did not matter to Tinubu, he is now worried stiff about the potential of an Osinbajo presidential aspiration benefitting from a national consensus.

The consensus is gradually growing even as Osinbajo has yet to publicly declare his interest in becoming president in 2023.

Osinbajo has more than ever before enjoyed a growing acceptability and popularity rating against the backdrop of old, recycled politicians jostling to succeed Buhari.

Osinbajo has in recent times enjoyed more visibility, official public engagements that have proved his intellectual capacity and clarity of thoughts, two virtues of global leaders.

Osinbajo has also been able to demonstrate his mental alertness and oratorical prowess by his ex-temporaneous speeches.

And, this is just a tip of the iceberg in the veritable bugaboo that a potential Osinbajo presidential aspiration has become to Tinubu and some other presidential hopefuls.

THE CONCLAVE gathered that the real fear that prompted Tinubu to hurriedly step out ahead of Osinbajo to confer with Buhari was the information he got that the pentecostal pastors had endorsed Osinbajo at a meeting, last year, where the clerics advised him (Osinbajo) to quickly inform President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu of his presidential aspiration.

It was gathered that while Osinbajo was preparing to do that, one of the men at the meeting was believed to have leaked the information to Tinubu who quickly rushed to Abuja to see Buhari and Osinbajo to tell them separately of his plan to run for the presidency.

Tinubu, according to feelers, believed that it was strategic to get to Buhari before Osinbajo and raise a possible moral guard against opposition to his ambition by Buhari.

The move was also meant to put Osinbajo in a political bind by making it fifficult fir him to throw his hat in the ring to challenge his benefactor.

In 2015, there was a purported unscripted agreement that Tinubu would succeed Buhari after he must have deployed his Southwest structure in his electioneering and election as president.

Tinubu, who had positioned himself for the position of a running mate to Buhari in 2015 had to bury the plan due to nationwide sentiments against a muslim-muslim ticket.

It was that opposition that culminated in the emergence of Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate.

Tinubu nominated Osinbajo who was his Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 when Tinubu was Governor.

In the original calculations and permutations by Tinubu’s strategists, Osinbajo would not run against Tinubu.

But all their calculations and permutations have become quicksand as strong and influential support is quietly being thrown behind Osinbajo from the northern part of the country.

This is even as Osinbajo has yet to publicly announce his interest in the presidential race. Forces across the country are quietly rooting for him.

A vast majority of northern APC governors, as learnt, feel so much comfortable with Osinbajo, whose aspiration they consider to be in apple-pie order.

Osinbajo is largely seen in several quarters to be a perfect fit for the presidency in 2023 and APC’s best material for the presidential poll next year.

Some of the governors are said to have begun jostling already to be Osinbajo’s running mate.

Becoming Osinbajo’s running mate is considered much easier to achieve than being Tinubu’s running mate who is a Muslim like them. A Muslim-Muslim cannot fly in 2023.

THE CONCLAVE also gathered that funding Osinbajo’s presidential project would not be difficult to achieve once the governors and the Presidency endorse him.

Private sector players who believe in national rebirth and rensissance Nigeria, as learnt, are said to be prepared to fund Osinbajo’s presidential project, believing very strongly that he has the capacity to deliver as president.

Tinubu is said to be ill-at-ease with the emerging scenario of a likely national consensus building around Osinbajo to emerge as APC’s standard bearer for the 2023 presidential election.

The Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban of Borgu has a number of options to explore in the emerging gritty race for the APC ticket in the build-up to the 2023 presidential race.