Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has tapped former national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, as chairman of his presidential campaign council.
Tinubu has also penciled down Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, as Director-General of the campaign council.
Western Post, an online newspaper published by Tunde Rahman, said a source close to the leadership of the party revealed the proposals.
The publication noted that the recent visit of Oshiomhole, el-Rufai and the governors of Zamfara and Plateau States, Bello Matawalle and Simon Lalong, to Tinubu, was not unconnected to the appointments.
The decision, it was further gathered, was taken after consultations with President Muhammadu Buhari and the party leadership.
However, THISDAY findings revealed that, Tinubu, just like the case of his Muslim-Muslim preference for the presidential ticket, which has continued to create problems for the party, had since wanted Oshiomhole as campaign DG, but the idea was roundly rejected by the other members of the party, especially, the governors, who thought the former Edo State governor, was too disruptive a personality to lead the campaign.
Not surprisingly, the same way Tinubu jettisoned advice against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, sources said, he has also settled for his preference in who leads the campaign, even though he attempted to balance it with the choice of el-Rufai as the DG.
THISDAY sources further hinted that apart from being considered disruptive, a committee earlier set up by the candidate to look into some of these issues, had advised against Oshiomhole, because he would be standing for election in 2023 and therefore, should be allowed to go and concentrate on his election.
Party sources told THISDAY that many members of the APC had quietly become frustrated with Tinubu’s constant refusal to yield to advice, coupled with the arrogance with which he always wanted his views to prevail over other suggestions and had decided to let him have his way, since he is the candidate of the party.
•Additional report courtesy of Emerald News
