Asiwaju Bola Tinubu's visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa last Monday caused a political earthquake in Nigeria, with the debate over which zone should fly the party's flag in the 2023 Presidential poll. Chief David Nweze Umahi, chairman of the Southeast Governors' Forum, announced his participation in the Presidential contest, raising the tempo of Southeast's clamour for a repeat of the 1999 zoning plan. Tinubu was seen as the prime mover of the merger arrangement among various former opposition parties into an amalgam mega party that ended up defeating PDP in the 2015 Presidential poll. Tinubu's presidential ambition was a source of unease within the governing APC due to his Muslim religious background, and former Sokoto State governor Dr. Attahiru Bafarawa regretted that Tinubu began making covert manoeuvres to ensure credible leaders were sidelined. However, Tinubu supported the admission of members of newPDP, led by Atiku Abubakar, to weaken the ruling party and boost his chances of winning.
Index to Nigerian Newspapers
