2023: Odds Against Tinubu As APC Governors Meet Dead End On Choice of Candidate, SDP Picks flagbearer

• The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Tuesday, May 31, elected its presidential candidate for 2023 in the person of Ebenezer Ikeyina
• This means the door of the party is shut to Bola Ahmed Tinubu in terms of the presidential ticket
• Moreover, the APC leadership and its governors are yet to decide on how to pick its flagbearer while talks about a consensus option are wavering

Some political observers believe that this may not be the best of times for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is seeking the presidential seat in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

APC governors' meeting

First, a meeting of APC governors on the choice of presidential candidate for the ruling party was deadlocked on Tuesday, May 31.

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The meeting came after President Muhammadu Buhari gave guidelines and conditions for making the all-important decision.

The ruling party's governors seemed short of ideas on how to go about making the choice in a way that reflects President Buhari's directives.

SDP ticket no more available

Secondly, even if things do not favour Tinubu eventually in the APC, it is already too late for him to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in search of the ticket as it was won by Ebenezer Ikeyina, a former senator representing Anambra Central.

Ikeyina emerged as the SDP's presidential candidate after the primary that was conducted in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the chairman of the national convention organising committee, Chief Mike Odunrinde, out of the 311 delegates accredited, 307 voted for Ikeniya, two voted against him, while only one vote was voided.

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Speaking after the election, Chief Supo Shonibare, the acting SDP national chairman, boasted that the party’s candidates for the elective offices will be victorious during the 2023 general elections.

APC screening panel asked to disqualify Tinubu over alleged questionable educational qualifications

Meanwhile, the APC presidential screening committee had been asked to disqualify Tinubu over “questionable educational qualifications”.

In a letter dated May 17, 2022, one Sagir Mai Iyali, who identified himself as an APC member from Kano state, asked the party to disqualify the former Lagos governor over alleged false documents the latter tendered to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1998.

Iyali also alleged that Tinubu's age is not known, adding that obscurity surrounding the presidential hopeful could jeopardise the party’s chances at the polls.

Source: Legit.ng