How Bola Tinubu, famed kingmaker, won APC presidential ticket 15 years after ruling Lagos
Former Lagos State Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu has emerged as the candidate of the All Progressive Party (APC) for the 2023 presidential election.
He scored 1271 of the 2322 delegates’ votes to defeat Minister of Transportation and former governor of River State, Rotimi Amaechi, who scored 316, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who scored 235, and Senate President, Ahmed Lawan who polled 152 votes at the ruling party’s presidential primaries in Abuja which started Monday June 6 to Wednesday June 8, 2022.
On January 10, 2022, Tinubu announced his intention to run for the President of Nigeria to Buhari, becoming one of the first in the two major political parties, All Progressive Congress (APC) and People Democratic Party (PDP), to publicly declare his intention.
While Tinubu has promised to decentralise the Nigerian Police Force in other to tackle insecurity, increase the annual budget for education to 25 per cent, create thousands of new jobs, and grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 12 per cent, his repeated claim that his role in bringing the Buhari-led administration into power in 2015 means he should be Nigeria’s next president has overshadowed his promises and left many questioning what his true intentions are.
Political Life
Tinubu’s political life could be described as successful since the start of his political career in 1992. Born on March 29, 1952, Tinubu started his political journey by contesting for the Lagos West Senatorial District under the platform of the Social Democratic Party and would emerge as the winner during the general election. After a year as Nigerian Senator, dictator Sani Abacha dissolved the Senate in 1993, and Tinubu was forced into exile for actively campaigning for the return of democracy. Shortly after Abacha died in 1998, he returned from exile and with his growing fame and influence, plugged into the Lagos State gubernatorial race under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, defeating Dapo Sarumi of the Peoples Democratic Party and Nosirudeen Kerere-Ekun of All People’s Party by a wide margin.
Despite his administration being marked by feuds with the PDP-controlled federal government, Tinubu’s two terms as Lagos State Governor was notable for infrastructural development and his role in trying to modernise the city.
Role in formation of APC and bringing Buhari to Power
Shortly after his tenure as Governor and after the 2007 general elections, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won with a landslide victory, Tinubu became one of the forces that sought to bring together the various opposition parties into a “mega-party” capable of challenging the dominance of PDP. In 2013, Tinubu, among other notable Nigerian politicians, achieved a coalition of three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a fraction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP (nPDP), to form the All Progressive Congress (APC).
APC became a movement, campaigning on the premise of fighting corruption, eradicating poverty, and rapid economic growth. To defeat the then incumbent President, Goodluck Ebere Jonathan, Tinubu supported Muhammadu Buhari, who commanded a widespread following in Northern Nigerian, and had previously contested three times without success.
A political strategist with a solid political structure, Tinubu amassed votes for the APC in the 2015 election as the party went on to dislodge the sixteen years of PDP rule.
Tinubu became the ‘father’ of APC, playing an essential role in supporting government policies and holding onto the internal party reins. He’ll again support the reelection of Buhari in 2019, and his position as the APC National Leader will become even more pronounced.
Controversies in the APC presidential primaries
However, leading to the APC presidential primaries, various sources hinted that Buhari would want a consensus successor with the odds against Tinubu.
Sensing that he might lose the ticket, Tinubu, out of what many described as desperation and anger, declared on June 3, 2022, during a visit to Abeokuta, Ogun State, that it was his turn to become President of Nigeria, narrating how he made Buhari President in 2015.
“If not for me talking to you today, Buhari would not have been president. It has been over 25 years that I have been serving them. It is my time. I’m educated, I’m experienced. I have been serving you for a long time. Bring me the presidency. It is my turn.”
On June 6, a few hours before the start of the primaries, various sources reported that the Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, was the consensus candidate. This was after Buhari met with APC governors and other party stakeholders. However, this was later debunked, and the primaries were held with 2322 delegates voting for their candidates in what was a fierce battle for the ticket.
The APC presidential primaries was earlier scheduled to hold on May 29, 2021, but was later postponed by one week after various interest groups failed to reach a consensus candidate.
Since leaving office as Lagos State Governor, Tinubu has been notable for influencing elections in Lagos and determining who becomes the next Governor of the State but opposed the idea of an APC consensus candidate.
His emergence as the party’s flag bearer means he’ll face former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of PDP, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of Labour Party, in what many believe will be a three horse race.
