UNTIL Monday afternoon, it was not so clear that the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was on his way to victory, following shocking inroads made by the standard bearer of the Labour Party LP, Mr. Peter Obi in places considered traditional strongholds of the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
For emphasis, Tinubu won in Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Jigawa, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Zamfara, Rivers and Borno states, but the odds were however against him in other states of the Federation.
Obi won in Lagos, Enugu, Nasarawa, Edo, Abia, Plateau, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo and the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Abuja.
PDP’s Atiku Abubakar won in Osun, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Taraba states.
Campaigns
Reacting to Tinubu’s victory, APC National Vice Chairman, North-West, Salihu Moh. Lukman said the party managed to run its campaign as of it was in the opposition.
According to him, so many odds were stacked against Tinubu.
“Without reopening all the dynamics that played out, it is public knowledge that some people at the highest level in APC were opposed to the emergence of Asiwaju Tinubu both as the candidate of the APC and the President-Elect.
“Part of what must be acknowledged is that APC had to manage its Presidential campaign almost as if its Presidential candidate is an opposition candidate. For instance, our leaders had to dissociate themselves from a crudely managed cashless policy of the APC Federal Government, which had the attributes of facilitating the defeat of APC in the Presidential elections,” said Lukman.
Also Read:
- You Didn’t Win 2023 Presidential Election – Tinubu Hits Back At Peter Obi
- I’ll Tell God INEC Killed Me – Young Boy Dropped Letter, Commits Suicide After INEC Declared Tinubu Winner Against Obi
- I Won 2023 Presidential Election – Peter Obi
While he lost Lagos to LP, Tinubu won in most parts of the South-West, partly due to his own influence and the support of some stakeholders in the area. For instance, in Oyo State where he won, the state governor, Seyi Makinde of the PDP was at loggerheads with his own party’s candidate, Atiku. Makinde was said to have been among those who influenced victory for Tinubu in the State.
Tinubu lost Osun by the whiskers. However, the combined influences of the National Secretary of the APC, Otunba Iyiola Omisore in the Ife area and the immediate past governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola, cannot be overlooked.
Also, the flamboyant Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike had vowed not to work for the candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar. Expectedly, he delivered his state for Tinubu.
“It’s a lifelong ambition.” That was Tinubu’s response on January 10, 2022 after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari to notify him of his (Tinubu’s) ambition to view for the presidency.
