By From all indications, Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo isn’t the only political figure serving in the present administration who is interested in succeeding his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari who bows out of office in 2023 upon completion of an 8-year tenure.
Alongside Osinbajo, five ministers have so far declared their intention to run for presidency under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the party’s presidential primaries billed to hold this month.
It would be recalled that Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on April 9, announced his presidential bid in Rivers State where he served as governor for eight years — albeit under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a rather surprising move, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba, on April 27, confirmed his presidential ambition after he procured the nomination forms of the APC pegged at N100m. His decision, however, attracted criticisms from Nigerians on social media who consider the move insensitive to the plight of Nigerian students currently at home due to the ongoing industrial action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, weeks ago, threw his hat in the ring for the presidential race, describing himself as eminently qualified to serve as Nigeria’s next president.
In the same vein, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, earlier in the week, declared his intention to run for presidency in 2023. The former Akwa Ibom State governor held a formal declaration event in the state which was attended by a mammoth crowd.
On Thursday, the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, formally joined the 2023 presidential race under the APC.
Onu, a former governor of old Abia State, made this known at a declaration event in Abuja, where he appealed to the party to make him its flagbearer.
Judging by this development, there are strong feelers that a stiff competition will arise between six members of the Federal Executive Committee, as the Vice President and five ministers would slug it out to clinch the APC presidential ticket at the primaries.
