A former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, was on Tuesday named a member of the All Progressives Congress' contact and strategy committee to ensure former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, drop his 2023 ambition, top sources in the party have revealed.
According to Daily Trust, Ambode's appointment was to whittle down the influence of Tinubu in the South-West, as the ruling APC continued to bring in political actors, who are perceived to be opposed to Tinubu.
Earlier, a serving minister in President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet stated that the President is not convinced that Tinubu should be his successor by 2023.
Along with other notable and distinguished colleagues, I was today selected by our party, the All Progressives Congress, to be a member of the Contact and Strategy Committee. This is a call to serve the Party and more importantly, our nation. pic.twitter.com/CRFEr7FcTQ
— Akinwunmi Ambode (@AkinwunmiAmbode) March 23, 2021
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Ambode, whose second term bid in 2019 was truncated by Tinubu, was booted out in a controversial APC primary election in Lagos State, which saw the emergence of present Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu – Tinubu's anointed godson.
Since then, Ambode had been out of Lagos' political scene and at the federal level until his appointment by the APC on Tuesday.
Aside from Ambode, the party has harvested top shots in the South-West political zone, including a former deputy governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore; a former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, and former Speaker Bankole, among others.
There are reports that they were cajoled by the APC towards demystifying Tinubu ahead of 2023.
Talking about the relationship between Buhari and Tinubu, a source in the presidency said, "President Buhari has never had a cordial relationship with Asiwaju. He believes that the former governor of Lagos State should be used to achieve his ambition. After the 2015 elections, you will recall that Asiwaju was abandoned.
"He was brought close again before the 2019 elections. So, there is no need to worry about their relationship. It is the same scenario that is playing out," he said.
The cabinet member told Daily Trust that the President had not hidden the fact that he is not interested in Tinubu's candidature.
"The president is not interested in Tinubu's candidature because he is not convinced that Asiwaju is the right person to succeed him," the minister said.
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The crack between Buhari and Tinubu has conspicuously widened as sources in the Presidency explained why Buhari would not support Tinubu's 2023 ambition.
A member of the first family stated that there are efforts to convince the President to support a candidate who would protect his (Buhari's) interest when exiting the presidency in 2023.
A ranking APC lawmaker also stated that the President was not happy with the South-West happenings even as he accused Tinubu of doing nothing visible to quench the region's rising agitations.
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