Senator Bukola Saraki
Though he is yet to declare his ambition, Senator Bukola Saraki, the former governor of Kwara State, is also believed to be among the presidential hopefuls of APC. The senator, who currently represents Kwara Central in the National Assembly will, like Atiku, be treading a familiar path if he decided to throw his hat into the ring. Saraki was one of the four aspirants who jostled for the endorsement of Northern Political Leaders’ Forum as the flag bearer of the North against President Jonathan in the contest for the presidential ticket of PDP in 2011.

•Saraki: Also interested.

The former governor however joined others to defect to the mega opposition party last year. This magazine gathered that Saraki has been consulting across the country on whether he should contest for the presidential ticket of the opposition party. Saraki supporters said his relatively young age, educational attainments and record of achievements in office place him above other candidates seeking the ticket. It was gathered that supporters of Saraki, especially in Kwara State, have been agitating for his entry into the contest for the APC presidential ticket. This is being demonstrated by the intermittent appearance of his posters in strategic places in Ilorin, the state capital, and in some northern states with the inscription: “Saraki for President.”

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso
Most television viewers across the country would have recently noticed commercials touting Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State as the best material for the APC presidential ticket. Even before he started airing the commercials, the Kano State governor had been going around the country to sell his candidature to members of APC.

This magazine gathered that Kwankwaso’s deputy, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has been busy establishing campaign offices for his boss across the country. One of such offices was commissioned in Adamawa State recently. In the same vein, the governor has been obtaining endorsements of different groups within the party across the country. A group of elders within the Kano chapter of APC last month endorsed the ambition of the governor to contest the 2015 presidential primary election on the platform of the party.

•Kwankwaso: Still consulting with stakeholders

The APC Elders’ Committee said the endorsement was based on the governor’s achievements in public service and politics. “It is very clear that the present incompetent leadership of the country cannot get us out of the present serious problem… In view of the above, the country needs a better and more dynamic leader. That leader must have the following qualities: honesty, commitment, vision, strong character, experience, ability to communicate, courage and confidence, integrity, transparency and more importantly, a team player.
“APC Elders Committee considers it necessary to invite the Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Musa Alhaji Kwankwaso to contest the presidential election come 2015 because he possesses most of the qualities mentioned above,” the Committee said in the communiqué issued after the meeting in which they made the call, signed by Ambassador Kabiru Rabi’u and Comrade Saleh Jili, Communiqué chairman and secretary respectively. The Kano House of Assembly has also endorsed the governor’s bid for the APC presidential ticket. However, this magazine gathered that members of the defunct CPC component of APC are protesting the endorsements because of the presidential ambition of Buhari.

On the other hand, loyalists of the governor are already calling on the former head of state to drop his presidential ambition and support Kwankwaso who is younger. They argued that Buhari should keep his previous promise of not contesting presidential election again in tune with his reputation as a man of integrity. An engineer and fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Kwankwaso was in the Kano State civil service before his entry into politics. He was also a former member of the House of Representatives, representing Madobi Federal Constituency, and governor of Kano State on the platform of PDP between 1999 and 2003. He was later appointed as Defence Minister, from which he resigned to contest the gubernatorial election in 2007. In 2011, Governor Kwankwaso contested the gubernatorial election and won to become the Governor of Kano for the second time, a position he is holding to date. Kwankwaso recently told reporters that he wants to become Nigeria’s president in 2015 to enable him use his requisite experience to address the fundamental socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria. But analysts believe that the governor may not be generally acceptable across the country if he is given the PDP ticket. Also, the governor, most times sounds more like a northern irredentist than a national unifying figure.

Governor Rochas Okorocha
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is unique as the only aspirant bucking the trend of the perception that the APC presidential ticket is reserved for candidates from the northern part of the country. Okorocha competed in the primaries to be PDP candidate for governor of Imo State at the return of democracy to the country in 1999 but lost to Achike Udenwa. He moved to ANPP, where he also unsuccessfully ran to be the presidential candidate of the party in 2003. Thereafter, the acclaimed philanthropist returned to the PDP and was appointed Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs by President Obasanjo.

•Okorocha: How will he deal with the technical zoning of the ticket to the North

In 2005, the businessman left PDP to form the Action Alliance and it was generally believed that he would run as presidential candidate of the party in the 2007 elections before he again abruptly returned to the PDP, where he indicated interest in becoming the chairman of the party. He continued his nomadic political life when he decamped from the PDP to APGA to run as APGA candidate for Imo State Governor in the April 2011 national elections. Governor Okorocha won the election and is the anchor of the APGA faction in APC.