There are indications that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan is eyeing the presidency in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a report by the Daily Independent, by virtue of his position as the president of the 9th Senate, Lawan is said to be interested in succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 if the APC decides to zone the ticket to the North as being canvassed in some quarters.
This was also said to have informed the decision on how and why Lawan nominated Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State as the Extraordinary Convention Committee of the APC.
Buni, who is a former national secretary of the party, was nominated following the dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
“Lawan is eyeing the presidency in 2023 and this may be his first move in that direction,” the source said.
“He is a strong proponent of North East producing the president if it remains in the North but some power brokers inside the party are pushing for it to be zoned to the South.”
“They believe it will not be fair for the North to still retain it after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years.
“Any Northerner who succeeds President Buhari will want to do two terms and that will amount to 16 years. They believe that that won’t bode well for the unity of the country.”
However, it is believed that the national leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is also nursing the presidential ambition in 2023.
Others include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, and Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation.
However, El-Rufai shocked many Nigerians in February when he said that the North had no justification to remain in power after the expiration of President Buhari’s second term.
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