2023: Buhari Appears To Have Preference For South-South Or South-East Candidate — Shittu

Former Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu has expressed doubt about the possibility of a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West emerging as the party presidential candidate as according to him, “I am not too sure whether our leader will allow Yoruba to have the presidential ticket because of the agitation from South-South and South-east.

Mr Shittu who contested the National Secretaryship post in the recently held National Convention of his party further said that the race for the presidential ticket is not going to be a single face race among the Yoruba aspirants but one that will be competitive among the entire southern aspirants.

The Oyo State-born politician spoke recently while featuring on a private radio station. When asked by the presenter who he thinks will pick the APC presidential ticket preparatory to the 2023 general elections between the current Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former Minister explained: “I will rather describe the selection process as a waiting game and I am not too sure we will be able to produce a presidential candidate the way we produced the National Chairman.

“But I know Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is interested in the presidential race and he will soon declare because his boys are going around the country and they have approached me. He was my classmate at the law school and when he was Commissioner in Lagos I was also a Commissioner at a time in Oyo State. He is someone I know very well. And I also know that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Nigeria is contesting politically and otherwise and I am not too sure whether our leader will allow Yoruba to have the presidential ticket because of the agitation from South-South and South-east.

“I know two people from South-South that want to contest and I also know that two aspirants from South-East are also interested.

“Reminded by the host that Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) bloc in APC contributed six governors as against a governor from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc at the formation of APC, Shittu replied that: ”for me is not about blocs when talking about the electoral value of President Buhari because in 2011 when President Buhari contested, he garnered 12 million votes from the North, he only got 500,000 votes from entire Southern Nigeria. In 2015 Buhari got 12 million votes from the North and got 3 million votes from the entire South.

“In 2019, President Buhari still garnered 12 million votes from the North and less than 5 million votes from Southern Nigeria,” he said.

Asked if he is aware of how Benyamin Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister of Israel lost his seat by a single vote, Shittu simply retorted ‘it is a waiting game