For some years now, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been determining whatever happened in the fold of the progressives in the South Western part of the country and even beyond.
He started by leading many of his followers out of the Alliance for Democracy to form the Action Congress (AC), later this metamorphosed to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before the party teamed up with others to form the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, Asiwaju Tinubu appears to be losing grip of the control of the APC, and this started in Kogi State, when Governor Yahaya Bello of the state was favoured against Hon. Abiodun James Faleke, who was Tinubu’s candidate after the sudden death of the guber candidate of the party in the last year’s election in the state, the late Audu Abubakar.
The latest onslaught against the man, who is also referred to as Jagaban Borgu, is the emergence of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the governorship candidate of the APC in Ondo State in an election slated for November, 2016 against the preferred candidate of Asiwaju Tinubu, Mr. Olusegun Abraham.
Insiders informed us that Akeredolu is being sponsored and financed by Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, former governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and former governor Rotimi Amaechi.
It was gathered from reliable sources that this group of APC leaders have their own caucus in the party, and that they were aligning and strategizing towards 2019.
“Where did you think Akeredolu got money to house over 1200 delegates in several hotels across Akure, the capital of Ondo State. The logistics and campaign finances of Aketi are coming from the men mentioned above.
“These men want to cut Tinubu to size before 2019, they started it in Kogi State, where they were able to get the APC National Body and Kogi State APC to replace the late Abubakar Audu with Yahaya Bello as against Tinubu’s anointed candidate James Faleke,” the source stated.
The source informed us further that Olusegun Abraham was sponsored and financed by Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande and that more dramas and realignment will unfold in the coming weeks both in APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
With what is playing out now, Asiwaju Tinubu might need to restrategize to reclaim his power in the fold of the progressives for the 2019 elections.
