To Retain Power Come 2027, PBAT Must Contend With These Emerging Northern Power Blocks.
Recently, prominent Northern politicians made an August political homage to the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, in an attempt to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
With this recent unfolding scenario in the Nigeria political alignments. Political pundits wonder how PBAT can possibly navigate through this Nigerian murky waters of politics.
In these clandestine scenarios are the group of the former executive governors of the ruling party, led by Nasiru El’Rufai and the Buhari former cabinet ministers group lead by the former Attorney General, Abubakar Malami and the former aviation minister Hadi Sirika.
To make matters worse, most of the present presidential aids are working at Cross Road with the interest of the president. Most of them are relatively unknown politicians who can not even deliver a winning margin in their own electoral wards with an insatiable quest for ill gotten wealth as against selfless service to humanity.
People wonder why the president still surrounds himself with a politically naive Ibrahim Matsari whose stock in trade is to continue to intimidate and blackmail ministers, permanent secretaries, head of government agencies and some national assembly members in order to continue to expand his ungodly quest for ernmmersing excessive wealth. Ibrahim Matsari is known to be a serial betrayer as shown in his recent action towards his political master, the former Katsina State Governor, Rt.Hon Aminu Bello Matsari who brought him to political limelight.
It’s obvious that the northern politician sees Ibrahim Masari, a political neophyte emergence as the then VP placeholder, as a slight on them. From inception, the choice of Ibrahim Matsari as the VP placeholder was seen as picking a street urchin with little or no political pedigree likened to the president belittling their capacity.
Ibrahim Matsari’s threats of having the capacity to discredit politicians and civil servants that refuse to comply with his selfish interests needs to get the president’s attention in order to checkmate this looming northern agenda.
In all these scenarios, what should be paramount at this moment is for Mr. President to beem his searchlight within his close political associates.
The strategic political calculations to replace PBAT became obvious when Buhari home state Governor Dikko Radda hosted the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 general election. The strategic political alliance meeting was held under the guise of condolence/sallah visit.
The main opposition leader, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Dikko Radda, were seen donning the same blue color babariga at the Emir’s Palace before they both drove out of the Palace together to an undisclosed venue of the parley.
It is believed that Fmr Governor Nasir El’Rufai is the secret engine room in the recruitment ploy of former executive governors under the ruling party. He has been in Katsina secretly to anchor the meeting. The main focus is to plan how to work together irrespective of the party affiliations of the political gladiators.
The present Governors of Katsina, Jigawa, Gombe and Yobe States are believed to have totally keyed into the project of replacing PBAT come 2027 with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Among the plan is to extract commitment from other willing northern APC present and former executive governors.
The public should ask these Governors what they have been using the humongous monthly allocation they received to do. Obviously, the Governors will have to pilfer the amount and use the same to finance a ‘dead on arrival’ desperate political ambition of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The corruption stigma hanging on Nair El’ Rufai, Hadi Sirika, and Abubakar Malami is seen in the public space as a notion of corruption fighting back.
The pundits believe that a Southerner had been in power for just one year. It’s too early for these desperate and power-hungry northern elite to start plotting. And their obsession with power is condemnable.
The facts remain that these group have enormous financial war chests, and they have successfully instigated northern hatred for the president. Irrespective of the near success these groups have recorded so far, it is believed that the president still possess the capacity to whittle down their gains.
The Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda is believed to be the arrow head of this plot because he knows he can not succeed his second term ambition without Buhari and his men’s support, who are bent on frustrating the president’s second term ambition. Also, the former Sokoto state governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, was learned to be championing the Atiku Abubakar PDP group in this onslaught against the President .
From all indications, the plot is for the Buhari group to resurrect the defunct CPC political machinery within APC and deploy all available resources while the Tambuwal’s role is to coordinate the Atiku Abubakar loyalists group in the PDP.
The ploy to fly the Atiku Abubakar 2027 political kits is so thick, especially coming from close political associates of the president and serving governors of the ruling party. But from all indications, it seems the president is already in the know and also planning a political counter offensive against these selfish and desperate political warlords.
Abdulmalik Mijindadi writes from Kaduna.