Governorship Primaries In Other States
While the tense situation in Lagos could be considered normal for a state of such importance, especially since the incumbent was serving the constitutional second term in office, the same cannot be said of states controlled by the APC and which have their governors currently serving first term. Such states include Ogun, where Senator Ibikunle Amosun has been endorsed for another term and where his major obstacle to clinching the ticket would have been Segun Osoba and his loyalists that have now moved over to the Social Democratic Party, SDP; and Oyo State where Governor Abiola Ajimobi has also been endorsed. Other states where the governors have been endorsed for a second term include Borno, Nassarawa, Yobe, and Kwara. In Rivers State, which Governor Rotimi Amaechi would have served for eight years by 29 May, 2015, Dakuku Peterside, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on Petroleum, has been endorsed for the party’s ticket ahead of Senator Magnus Abe. In Imo State, there has been a level of silence concerning the ticket for the party. Governor Rochas Okorocha, who is currently serving one term, is one of the aspirants seeking the APC ticket for the presidential election. So far, no aspirant has declared interest to run on the party’s platform in the state, revving up insinuations that the seat must have been reserved for Okorocha in the likely event that he does not clinch the APC ticket as flagbearer for the presidential election.

In Sokoto State Aminu Tambuwal remains the favoured aspirant having been allegedly endorsed by the state governor and high-ranking monarchs in the state. Though Tambuwal had Senator Dahiru Umar to slug it out with, analysts predicted a smooth ride for the Speaker of the House of Representatives who recently defected to the APC from the PDP.

•Tambuwal: Now the Sokoto candidate

Now that the primaries have come and gone, the major battles ahead for the party involve retaining their territories at the state level and at the National Assembly, expanding into some states already being governed by the PDP and ultimately taking over the much coveted seat of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the coming elections. That is , of course, where all other things remain equal.

– Additional reports by Kazeem Ugbodaga and Jamiu Yisa