There are indications that members of the proposed All Progressives’ Congress (APC) are making plans to back the former Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau to be the presidential candidate of the party come 2015.
Shekarau was governor of Kano State on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) between 2003 and 2011 and was their presidential candidate in the last elections. ANPP is one of the 4 parties that is merging to form the APC, alongside the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and a faction of the All Progressives’ Grand Alliance (APGA).
This was according to a reliable source within the party who said that the party wanted to field the strongest candidate possible that would give the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) a run for their money.
The source added that the National Leader of the CPC, Gen Muhammadu Buhari was being persuaded not to run in 2015, while the National Leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has also been told to support a known and sellable candidate if the party is to win 2015.
According to the source, Tinubu is alleged to being the peacemaker between Buhari and Shekarau, based on the need for them to put their houses in order to make the APC a formidable party.
The alleged peace meeting was said to have taken place in one of Tinubu’s Abuja homes, with Shekarau attending and Buhari being represented by one of his loyalists.