• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Thursday, May 19, 2022
The Union Nigeria
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • International
    • Security
    • Judiciary
    • Special Reports
  • Politics
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Communication
    • Energy
    • Maritime
    • Oil & Gas
    • Technology
    • Tourism
  • Health
  • Education
  • Arts & Life
    • Art
    • Books
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Athletics
    • Tennis
    • Racing
    • Golf
  • Press Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Interviews
    • Columns
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • International
    • Security
    • Judiciary
    • Special Reports
  • Politics
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Communication
    • Energy
    • Maritime
    • Oil & Gas
    • Technology
    • Tourism
  • Health
  • Education
  • Arts & Life
    • Art
    • Books
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Athletics
    • Tennis
    • Racing
    • Golf
  • Press Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Interviews
    • Columns
The Union Nigeria

OPINION: Who Is Buhari’s 2023 Candidate?-  By Fredrick Nwabufo

“I don’t have any favourite for 2023 and if I do, I won’t reveal his identity because if I do, he may be eliminated before the election. I better keep it secret.’’

by The Union Nigeria
March 6, 2022
in Opinion
Buhari Won’t Stay Beyond May 29, 2023 – Presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare To WhatsAppSend To Mail

By Fredrick Nwabufo

President Muhammadu Buhari can be inscrutable. Difficult to predict and divine. You cannot tell what he is thinking. And like the old general that he is, he has perfected the art of not telling it all and choosing his words carefully like a cat on tightropes.

In an interview with Channels Television in January 2022, the old fox kept his mystery and had everyone guessing. When asked who his preferred 2023 presidential candidate was, the artful general said: “I don’t have any favourite for 2023 and if I do, I won’t reveal his identity because if I do, he may be eliminated before the election. I better keep it secret.’’

Since this ‘’tactical manoeuvring’’, many presidential aspirants have been courting the president’s attention and seeking to establish themselves in the national consciousness as his sanctified pick.

Who is Buhari’s consecrated presidential choice? Is it Bola Tinubu, former Lagos state governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC)? Well, one thing is certain – we may not know Buhari’s preference, but we do know those who will not go through his beatification. In January, Tinubu visited Buhari at the presidential villa. He later announced that day that he had informed the president of his intention to run for presidential office in 2023 — and the pyrotechnics began.

Some regard Tinubu’s ‘’ambush’’, considering how, where and why he declared his presidential bid, as a desperate move. It is common knowledge that Tinubu and the president, including members of the recondite cabal, have not had a sunny relationship. It is alleged that Tinubu who contributed principally to the success of the APC in 2015 was given the heave-ho soon after the president and ‘’his men’’ came to power.

ALSO READ  Population and Housing Census Holds April 2023 – FG

Remi Tinubu, the former Lagos governor’s wife, is one of those who have taken this allegation to town. She said Tinubu was ‘’trashed’’ after helping the APC win the presidential election in 2015. Her words: “I was hurt [by] what they did to my husband after the campaign. He didn’t say a thing. We were running three campaigns in my house, and for him to be trashed like that…”

Those privy to palace gossip say Buhari is not ‘’comfortable’’ with Tinubu based on principles. Buhari is of the conservative stock, but Tinubu is the wheeler-dealer politician who understands the art of the deal. If Tinubu was good enough to help bring the current administration to power, why is he not fit to be supported by the same hand he held up?

The declaration of Tinubu’s presidential bid at the presidential villa was not necessarily to seek the permission of Buhari, but to call his bluff and soldier on with ambition. It was a case of ‘’I know you do not want me to succeed you, but hey, I am getting on with my ambition anyway’’.

ALSO READ  Kashifu Inuwa, Sadiya Umar Farouq, Haske, others to be honored at Northern Nigeria Peace Awards 2022

Is Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo Buhari’s presidential favourite? It will be too hasty to say, but the chronicle of relationship between the two puts a doubt to the question.

In September 2019, Buhari took drastic steps to whittle down the power and influence of Osinbajo. The vice-president had reportedly offended ‘’members of the conclave’’ when he sacked Lawal Daura as the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) following the siege on the national assembly by the DSS in 2018. The vice-president was also alleged to have taken some unsanctioned decisions and actions.

In a presidential memo, as reported by TheCable, the president asked Osinbajo to, henceforth, seek presidential approvals for agencies under his supervision. This was not the case during Buhari’s first term in office. Osinbajo is the chairman of the governing boards of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA).

OPINION: Who Is Buhari’s 2023 Candidate?-  By Fredrick Nwabufo
President Muhammadu Buhari

He is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), a limited liability company owned by the three tiers of government.

The directive was for the vice-president to follow due process in seeking approvals for contract awards, annual reports, annual accounts, power to borrow, and power to make regulations, among other key functions. Buhari also appointed the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and disbanded the Economic Management Team led by Osinbajo.

ALSO READ  Why Oshiomhole’s Men Are After Senator Francis Alimikhena

Not sparing any effort in this blitz, the president removed NEMA and the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) from the office of the vice-president and put them under a newly-created ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, headed by Sadiya Umar Farouq.

However, Osinbajo took the president’s decision well – without acting out or gunning for a dogfight. But does Buhari trust him enough to put the laurel wreath on his head?

Is Buhari’s presidential favourite Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation; David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi state; Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, or Chris Ngige, minister of labour? Only the retired general can tell – a clairvoyant will find it hard to decipher this mystery even from the president’s famous ‘’body language’’.

The fact is whoever Buhari ‘’sanctifies’’ will get the support of the north – which holds the ace in elections in Nigeria.

Who is Buhari’s 2023 presidential candidate?

Nwabufo aka Mr OneNigeria is a writer and journalist.

close

Subscribe To Receive Newsletters

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

ShareTweetSendSend
Previous Post

Nigerian Evacuees Weep, Narrate Horrible Experiences In Ukraine

Next Post

APC NAT’L CHAIR: Buhari Has Not Endorsed Anyone – Sen Adamu counters media

MORE STORIES

Osinbajo: It’s Time For The Best Amongst Us To Lead Us

Osinbajo: It’s Time For The Best Amongst Us To Lead Us

May 17, 2022
Goodluck Is Coming! (Part 1)

Goodluck Is Coming! (Part 1)

May 14, 2022
2023 Presidency: Choice Of Candidate Tears PDP Leaders Apart

OPINION: Liberty Or Slavery, The Choices Before PDP Delegates In Delta State 

May 8, 2022
2023 Presidency: Orji Kalu Betrayed Igbo Nation – Edwin Clark

INTERVIEW: Northerners Asking Jonathan, Others To Join Presidential Race Insincere – Edwin Clark

May 8, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

TRENDING STORIES

  • How ASUU Uncovered Multi-Billion Naira Market, Other Properties Owned By AGF Idris

    How ASUU Uncovered Multi-Billion Naira Market, Other Properties Owned By AGF Idris

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • SPECIAL REPORT: 49 Kidnapping Hotspots On South-West Roads Identified

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • SPECIAL REPORT: Despite Lack Of Funds Nigeria Gifts ₦806 Million To Guinea Bissau (See Implications)

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 2023 Presidency: Choice Of Candidate Tears PDP Leaders Apart

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 2023: Why Jonathan Agreed To Run For President Under APC

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How An American Scammed Two Nigerians Of $368,000 – FBI

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Goodluck Is Coming! (Part 1)

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • EXCLUSIVE: Bello, Amaechi, Three Other Presidential Aspirants Allegedly Secretly Pick Senate Forms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Meet Man With Over 2600 Court Cases, See What He Did To Guinness For Publishing His Record

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • I Would Act Nude Scenes For 10 Million Dollars – Actress Modola Osifuwa

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT

RECENT STORIES

Ex- Gov Fayose’s N7 billion Money Laundering Trial Adjourned

Ex- Gov Fayose’s N7 billion Money Laundering Trial Adjourned

May 18, 2022
Nigerian Bar Association Useless, Only Good At Issuing Statements - Wike

Nigerian Bar Association Useless, Only Good At Issuing Statements – Wike

May 18, 2022
2023 Presidency: Choice Of Candidate Tears PDP Leaders Apart

2023 Presidency: Choice Of Candidate Tears PDP Leaders Apart

May 18, 2022
REVEALED: How Corps Member Found Dead In Abuja Was Killed By Jealous Rival

REVEALED: How Corps Member Found Dead In Abuja Was Killed By Jealous Rival

May 18, 2022
Osinbajo: It’s Time For The Best Amongst Us To Lead Us

Osinbajo: It’s Time For The Best Amongst Us To Lead Us

May 17, 2022

THE UNION NIGERIA

TheUnionNigeria.com is an independent, nonprofit news website that seeks to promote transparency and accountability through robust and objective reporting. We aim to critically engage you with news reports, Opinions, Editorials, Politics, Business Sports, Entertainment news, Lifestyle, Education, Videos, Photos, Documents and investigative reports.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

GET NEW POST ALERT

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

NEWS SOURCES

  • Africa.com
  • Businessday
  • Channels Television
  • Daily Independent
  • Daily Times
  • Daily Trust
  • Leadership Newspaper
  • National Daily
  • NewsDiary Online
  • Nigerian Tribune
  • Economic Confidential
  • Peoples Gazette
  • PM News
  • Pointblanknews
  • Premium Times
  • Punch
  • The Guardian
  • The Nation
  • The Sun
  • Thisday
  • TV360 Nigeria
  • Vanguard

©The Union Nigeria | Published By Flying Dutchman Limited.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • International
    • Judiciary
    • Security
    • Crime
    • Special Reports
  • Politics
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Communication
    • Energy
    • Maritime
    • Oil & Gas
    • Technology
    • Tourism
  • Health
  • Education
  • Arts & Life
    • Art
    • Books
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Athletics
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Interviews
  • Press Freedom
  • Columns
  • TUN TV
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US

©The Union Nigeria | Published By Flying Dutchman Limited.