Race for Buhari’s Position Gathers Momentum

Prominent Nigerians, including the incumbent leader have declared interest in 2019 presidential election


With less than one year to the 2019 general elections, the race for who takes over the most powerful office, the President of Africa’s most populous nation, from the incumbent leader, Muhammadu Buhari, is gathering momentum. The interest is getting keener with each passing day with President Buhari declaring his intention to seek reelection, while several other candidates, especially from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, have similarly declared their intention to vie for the position. Barely a month ago, President Buhari put an end to speculations over his disposition by formally declaring his bid to recontest.

The President took the opportunity of the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership on April 9 to announce his intention to seek for renewal of his mandate. Before his official declaration, many APC governors had publicly endorsed the President for second term. Governor El-Rufai earlier this year led some governors to the Presidential Villa asking President Buhari to seek reelection. The governors included Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Abubakar Bello of Niger State, Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State and Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State. Governor el-Rufai, speaking on behalf of the group said: “We are politicians and those of us that you see here want the President to contest for a second term of office. So, everything is about 2019; there is no hiding that. We have no apologies for that.

“We believe in the President, we want him to keep running the country in the right direction. So, people can speculate about 2019; we have no apologies”. The APC in Kano State and the state governor had also thrown their weight behind the President in his bid to contest the 2019 polls. They hinged their endorsement of the President on the” progress made in the last two years, especially in the fields of security, the war against corruption and the restructuring of the economy”. Governor Ganduje also threatened earlier to take legal action again Buhari if he did not declare his intention for re-election. President Buhari had in February asked the state governors to give him more time to decide whether he would seek re-election in 2019.The country’s leader said he is banking on God and the unity of APC members for victory in 2019. Buoyed by the support provided him by his party President Buhari has expressed optimism that he would be victorious at the 2019 general elections. He is, however, banking on “the grace of God” and the unity of APC members for success. According to President Buhari: “Just like our party symbol the broom, we stand by strength in unity. Let us try to be united in our party; victory is sure by the grace of God. And together, we must continue to sanitize Nigeria’s Political environment,” Outside Abuja, thousands of youths in the commercial city of Kano jubilated shortly after the news broke that President Buhari would be seeking another term.

Some of the youths, according to reports, expressed optimism that Buhari would be able to complete the developmental projects that he has started.Usman Baba, a resident, said that the past three years of the Buhari administration has been spent restoring security in the country and fighting corruption. “We are happy and hoping that President Buhari should return to embark on infrastructural development since he has already retrieved a lot from looters,” he was quoted to have said. “We don’t want someone to come and embezzle the retrieved loot or divert it to some looters again. That is why we want him to serve another term.” Abduljalal Mu’azu, another resident, also expressed optimism that if Buhari wins a second term, the country’s situation would improve.

A female respondent Malama Musa, said the world had accepted the president as trustworthy and transparent. Kano is pivotal to Buhari’s second term bid as the state gave him the highest number of votes in the 2015 election, just like in the elections of 2003, 2007 and 2011. Out of the 2,172,447 votes cast in Kano in 2015, Buhari won 1,903,999 votes. President Buhari however has a mountain to climb in his desire to get the mandate of Nigerians once more. His main opponent is one of those that worked for his success in the least election. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a 13-page statement had blasted President Buhari and advised him not to seek re-election in 2019.The statement which was released in January this year said Buhari should not toy with the patience of Nigerians but should in a dignified way dismount from the horse (seat of power). According to Obasanjo,“President Buhari needs to be dignified and honourable to dismount from the horse. He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the sideline for the good of the country. His place in history is already assured,” Obasanjo said in the public statement. It is not only Buhari that is seeking to run for 2019 general elections.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also officially declared his intention to run for president in 2019 on the Platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. Alhaji Abubakar announced his candidacy in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, four months after dumping the All Progressives Congress, APC. The former Vice President said his decision to make the announcement in Rivers State was because he believes Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike represents what he represented in 1998/99 as the live wire of the PDP. Alhaji Abubakar was in Rivers state with the former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel; Senator Abdul Ningi and some other party leaders.

Governor Wike, in his reaction, described the former Vice President as a presidential candidate feared by the APC. According to Governor Wike, the PDP is not just interested in seizing power in 2019, it is out to rescue Nigeria from what he described as a period of maladministration. The Governor called on other aspirants of the party to do nothing to jeopardize its chances in the 2019 general elections.

Alhaji Abubakar, who contested against President Muhammadu Buhari for the APC presidential ticket for the 2015 general elections, resigned from the APC in November 2017. The list of those interested in contesting the 2019 presidency continues to increase. Among leading aspirants battling to succeed Buhari include former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Others subtly eyeing the plum seat include the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state. In the main opposition party, apart from the Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose who has openly declared his 2019 presidential ambition, others are former Senate President, David Mark and former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke.

Former governor of Kano State, Kwankwaso is one man whose ambition to lead the country has been in the public domain for some time now. He is currently a serving senator representing Kano Central at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly and was a presidential aspirant in the 2015 general election. Ahead of 2019, there are feelers that his Kwankwasiyya political structure has already started underground work to project him to the plum position.

Some of those eyeing the seat in the PDP family include former Senate President, David Mark, Governors of Ekiti and Gombe states, Ayo Fayose and Ibrahim Dankwambo respectively. The National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the PDP, Ahmed Makarfi and a former Special Duties Minister, Tanimu Turaki are strongly believed to be in the race.

In the Niger-Delta region for instance, the jostling for 2019 has created a sharp divide between the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) led by Chief Edwin Clark and some other power brokers in the region anchored by the immediate past Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, and former President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko. While Chief Clark’s group appears to have some level of soft spot for the Buhari administration, Okoko who is a prominent member of the Southern Leaders of Thought believes that 2019 general election may just be a pipe dream if Nigeria is not restructured before then.

The situation is not different in the South East as many of the gladiators are positioning themselves for a possible change in the political equation that may offer the zone the chance to produce the Vice Presidential slot. Former Cross River state governor is also interested in the nation’s number one job. He is Donald Etim Duke the governor of Cross River State between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party. He had served as Commissioner for Finance and Planning in the administration of Governor Clement Ebri between 1992 and 1993.

In 2007, the former governor had shown interest in running for president. In May last year, he hinted of his plan to run for the position. “I do not have the flair for the legislature; standing up and sitting down at the chambers to raise a point. That was why I did not contest for the position. “I have contested the presidency before; I will still give it a shot when the opportunity presents itself. I believe I still have the energy in me,” he said at a programme in Lagos. Earlier this year, the former governor reiterated his intention to run for the nation’s highest political office, saying “I am entitled to run for presidency of this country. Only on right circumstances I will aspire for it. I don’t shy away from responsibility, I will aspire for presidency of this country. I have what it takes to be president of this country.”

Although, Mr. Duke belongs to the PDP, it is not clear if he would run on the party’s platform as he recently identified with the Coalition for Nigeria Movement founded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and launched on January 31. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has equally declared his interest in 2019 race. Born in 1963, Mr. Moghalu, a political economist, lawyer and former United Nations official, hails from Anambra State.

While at CBN between 2009 and 2014, Mr. Moghalu served as deputy governor for financial stability as well as operations. He recently announced his intention to run for president though he did not disclose under what party he would do so. Undoubtedly, this is his first political outing as he is not known to have run or occupied any political position before now.

Mr. Moghalu said the time had come for technocrats, intellectuals and experienced people to take power from Nigeria’s career politicians. He said he would not be deterred from joining the race, in spite of speculations that 2023 was the year slated for Igbos to have a shot at the presidency. “It is the turn of any competent Nigerian to aspire for the post of presidency because career politicians have failed Nigeria,’’ he said.

Another aspirant is Olufunmilayo Adesanya-Davies. Olufunmilayo Adesanya-Davies is a professor of Language and Communication Arts at the Rivers State University of Education. She has taught in the school for the past 30 years. Mrs. Adesanya-Davies was born on October 1962 in Ira, in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State. She studied at the Universities of Ilorin and Port Harcourt as well as North-western University, USA. Apart from teaching, she is also a cleric. She is founder of the Agape Bible Church.

Recently, she declared her interest in the 2019 presidential race. Interestingly, she is nursing her ambition on the platform of the PDP, which has zoned the position to the North.

Mrs. Sonaiya, another woman belongs to KOWA party. She was the party’s presidential flag bearer in the 2015 election. In that election, Mrs. Sonaiya, the only female candidate then, polled 13,076 votes representing 0.05 of the total votes cast. Born in 1955 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Mrs. Sonaiya, retired as a professor of French Language and Applied Linguistics at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife before joining politics. Enyinnaya Nnaemeka Nwosu a lawyer, who was born on December 14, 1977 in Olokoro, Umuahia in Umuahia South LGA of Abia State is also keen in becoming the nation’s leader.

He had lectured at West George College, Glasgow Scotland before joining Royal Bank of Scotland and later SERCO GROUP in Newcastle, England. He worked with the Justice Department and Legal Aid Agency from where he was seconded to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals. It was from the Tribunal he returned to Nigeria. Mr. Nwosu, though has not disclosed the party in which he will pursue his ambition, has already developed a manifesto with which he said he ”would govern Nigeria, if elected.” For instance, the aspirant said he would assemble an economic team that is not involved in partisan politics to handle the economy.

With increasing political awareness of Nigerians, more politicians and others alike are expected to declare their interest in the days to come.