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As the race for the 2023 presidential election draws closer in Nigeria, influential politicians who have ambition to contest the election are trying to win power brokers and bigwigs in their political parties.
On the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, the former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, is heavily linked to the 2023 presidency and tipped to fly the ticket of APC.
Although Tinubu has not declared officially to contest for the presidential election, his body language and the launching of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos has increased the speculation that Tinubu might contest for the presidential ticket of the ruling party.
Some Governors like Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State who is an ally of Tinubu have shown deep interest in the presidential bid of Bola Tinubu and believed in the agitation for shift to southern Nigeria after the eight years tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Political pundits also believed that Tinubu has tried to win the support of Kano politicians for his alleged presidential ambition when he decided to host his yearly colloquium in Kano this year for the first time after over a decade.
However, a report by the Daily Trust Newspaper showed that Tinubu has taken a smart move to win the support of the former Governor of Kano and Senator representing Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekarau, few days after he defeated the faction led by Ganduje in court.
The report revealed that Tinubu hosted Shekarau in Lagos to strengthen his relationship with the APC factional leader in Kano. The move is seen as a step by Tinubu to seek political relevance in the Shekarau’s camp that is winning ground in the state with the highest voting population in the country.
Tinubu’s meeting with Shekarau came after Abuja High Court declared the congresses conducted by Shekarau’s camp as legal and nullified the congresses conducted by Governor Ganduje-led faction.
The move by Tinubu to strengthen his relationship with Shekarau also came after Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa both addressed Shekarau-led factional Chairman, Haruna Ahmadu Dazango as Kano APC chairman at a lecture to mark the 21st anniversary of the Mambayya House of Bayero University, Kano.
