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The presidential candidate of the party will emerge tomorrow (Thursday).
More than 8,000 accredited delegates are expected to elect the party’s presidential flag bearer who is to face President Goodluck Jonathan, the sole candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, in the 2015 general elections.
THE FIVE ASPIRANTS ARE:
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
Buhari had sought to rule the nation through the ballot in 2003 under the banner of the defunct ANPP but lost to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2007, he contested against ex-President Umar Musa Yar’Adua and again, in 2011 he contested under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and lost to the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan.
The presidential poll results since 2003 confirmed Buhari as a political heavyweight and a politician with next to a fanatic cult following by the northern masses.
At 71, he is the oldest among the aspirants who have held various high positions in the past. He is formerly a Minister of Petroleum Resources, one time Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Task Fund (PTF), and Head of Military Government.
The retired Army General has a lot working for him. He was once described as “incorruptible” by ex-President President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nigerians see him as a symbol of discipline, a man of principle, an avowed anti-corruption crusader and a man of the people.
Rabiu Kwakwanso
Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso is a two-term Governor of Kano State (1999-2003) and (2011 till date), a former Minister of Defence, former Presidential Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur in 2007, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the aborted Third Republic and a member of the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference. He has been in politics since 1991.
The 58-year old Kwakwanso has largely been a master strategist in Kano politics. He is a progressive minded politician. He joined the PDP in 1998 but when he perceived what he described as injustice in the PDP, he defected to APC without blinking an eye.
Political analysts described Kwakwanso as a politician committed to the cause of the downtrodden, with masses-oriented projects. He operates a Free Feeding for Primary School Pupils policy in his state. He was described as a governor known for probity and accountability as he publishes every week the account of his tenure. He has stylishly personalized governance in Kano State with his Kwankwasiya ideology and trademark red cap to the admiration of the ordinary citizens.
Observers noted that his defection with other governors from PDP to APC enhanced his profile but he still plays good local politics which he remains at best.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar has a strong political structure in the South West since PDM formation and that structure is still there till today. He has visited 35 states in a month He is not ruled out in sharing Lagos and Osun votes with General Buhari.
The former Vice -President is a strong contestant for the APC presidential ticket and he has shown members of the party that he is serious about clinching the ticket. He had contested presidential elections in 1999 and 2003 (as running mate) and the candidate of the defunct Action Congress in
2007. His greatest asset is his ability to build political and social bridges across the Niger. He has lots of loyal political associates and friends in all parts of the country to the extent that Atiku is at home wherever he finds himself across the country.
His greatest strength is in being a democrat but this plus has not been able to translate to realizing his ambition to become the president of the country.
One of Atiku’s weaknesses, according to political watchers, is that he is too ambitious. There were speculations that if he had not returned to PDP as at 2011 and remained in the defunct AC which later became the ACN, he could have won the 2011 poll at a time the North was looking for a liberal alternative to Jonathan. This perceived shortcoming of Atiku, as pointed out by analysts, may be his albatross at the polls.
Sam Nda-Isaiah
No one is sure if Nda-Isiah has any grassroots movement in the South West. But his real strength may show at the end of the primaries.
The Publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Sam-Nda Isaiah is one of the aspirants in the race who may spring surprise by being a factor for daring to challenge his political mentor, General Muhammadu Buhari at the primaries.
Born on May 1, 1962, Sam Nda-Isaiah came into political limelight in 2002 when he became the Deputy Director-General of Buhari Campaign Organization (BCO) for the 2003 poll under the banner of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He later became a founding member of the CPC. Isaiah was mentored by Buhari, thus he still has high regard for his mentor.
The newspaper publisher is a man of conscience and highly principled. He is devoted to any cause he believes in, fights injustice to individuals and the society at large. He is a minor in Nigerian politics and his critics believed he still needs to learn the game of politics for some time instead of attempting to start from the top.
Chief Rochas Okorocha
The incumbent Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha was as at 2003 a presidential aspirant of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but he did not succeed. Okorocha is a veteran governorship and presidential aspirant. He had attempted to be a governor in Imo State in 1999 but he failed as ex-Governor Achike Udenwa won the primaries.
After his failure in 2003, he defected to PDP where he later became the Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Okorocha is a committed grassroots politician but he is politically unstable, having moved around PDP, ANPP, AA, APGA and now APC. Having lost ANPP’s ticket to Buhari in 2003, APC members are not treating his aspiration with much seriousness.
Political analysts foresee Okorocha’s participation in the APC presidential primaries to bid for a higher position in the party. His level of consultations since he obtained presidential form at the APC headquarters in Abuja had been exceptionally low and this necessitated people’s perception of his involvement in the race as not too serious.
About Unknown
Deji Sadiq, a.k.a DEJI OF LAGOS is a LASU trained Economist turned freelance journalist, a Blogger, an information strategist, a public affairs analyst and a committed activist with a passion for equal opportunities.
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