Ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress, a political pressure group on the aegis of ‘Osinbajo-Ganduje Alliance (OGA) has flooded some major streets of Abuja with Osinbajo-Ganduje campaign posters
The poster which are attracting the attention of political observers are part of the latest addition to the permutation ahead of the 2023 General Elections.
The move is seen as part of efforts aimed at deft political positioning with the sole focus on the presidential ticket.
Some of the posters read: “Osinbajo-Ganduje Alliance (OGA), For Better Nigeria OGA Na Master.”
Unlike other posters that are pasted without any identity to likely sponsors, the Osinbajo-Ganduje is fully backed by a group.
A statement the Osinbajo-Ganduje Support Group which was signed by Messrs Oluleke Mose and Bello Adamu Mohammed pointedly said; “Vice President Osinbajo and Governor Ganduje have both offered the most plausible solutions to ending the security crisis occasioned by the farmers-herders crisis across the country.
The group further said that it strongly believe that if power rotates to the South, Osinbajo is best placed to unite, heal and inspire the great nation.
The statement further stated; “We also firmly believe that Ganduje’s antecedents as Governor of Kano make him the perfect Northern vice presidential candidate to Osinbajo; one who will advance and protect the interests of a Northern Nigeria plagued by poverty and insecurity.”
This was as it was gathered within close political cycle in the APC that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is quietly nursing a Presidential ambition, it is a known fact that Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, whose tenure ends in 2023, has publicly expressed his support for a Southern President.
This is even as fillers coming from the national headquarters of the APC indicate that it is most likely going to zone its Presidential ticket to the Southern part of the country, after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari and based on an unwritten gentleman understanding reached between the founding members of APC in 2014.
Curiously, Kano which is in North West Nigeria is renowned for its politics, and presently boasts of the largest voter turn-out figures in the country while Lagos, being Prof. Osinbajo’s political alma mater, remains the hub of political influence and activity in the South-west of Nigeria.
This is coming on the heels of serious concerns surrounding former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s health and age which is dominating discussions within the APC swinging to a consensus of opinion that the National leader of the party would not be in a position to drive a presidential campaign and effectively run such an office that is so demanding.
The development has thrown up discussion to the effect that the APC members from the South are beginning to talk and play up the prospects of younger Turks within the party like Prof. Osinbajo and former governor of Lagos Babatunde Fashola SAN.
Similarly, Governor Ganduje, is seen as a moderate politician with deep understanding of administration which posit him a politician the North can easily sell to the South particularly with his position that the next President of Nigeria should come from the South.
In the wisdom of the Osinbajo-Ganduje Alliance Group, pairing a sitting Vice President from the second largest voting zone in Nigeria with a governor from the largest voting zone in the country could be a political masterstroke for votes in 2023.
Again, as the APC seems set to announce the zoning of the presidency to the South, there is a growing consensus that the Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo’s candidacy, will be a better option particularly against the backdrop of the fact that he has understudy President Buhari and knows the direction and interest of the APC.
The days ahead would reveal more details in the permutations ahead of 2023.
Neither the office of Vice President Osinbajo nor that of Governor Ganduje’s has reacted to the posters and the group as at the time of filing this report.
