The race for 2023 presidency has begun in earnest. Interested aspirants have started working underground either by consulting leaders of their political parties or by lobbying their parties to decide which zone to produce the newest leader of the country in 2023. It is quite understandable and their actions can't be condemned. 

Take for instance, a former governor of Zamfara State, Mr. Ahmed Sani Yerima, had said that he would contest for the APC ticket for the next presidential election. The former governor has for long been nursing the political ambition. He however said that he wouldn't go for the ticket if the APC zones it to southern Nigeria.

The second term of President Muhammadu Buhari ends on 29 May, 2023 and he will be expected to hand over to another democratically elected leader on that same day. There are at least five top politicians from the southern part of the country and the politicians cut across the two leading parties in the country (APC and PDP).

Starting from the All Progressives Congress, which is the political party in power at this moment, there are three key members of the party who can take over from the incumbent president. And the first one is Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor.

Tinubu is seen as one politician who has worked assiduously towards making the APC a better political party. He was involved in the formation of the party and his efforts were useful when Muhammadu Buhari defeated the then president Goodluck Jonathan. It is widely seen that Tinubu is likely to take over from the incumbent president considering the close rapport between them.

Apart from Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ekiti State governor can't be written off. He even stands a better chance in the APC. There are at least two things that may favour Mr. Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State governor in the race for the 2023 presidency.

The first one is the fact that Mr. Kayode Fayemi has worked under the incumbent president. He served as a minister during the first term of the president. Later he went to contest for the seat of Ekiti State governor and he won. So, Kayode Fayemi and Bola Tinubu may slug it out to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari. The second factor is that Fayemi is the chairman of the Nigerian Governor's Forum.

Mr. Dave Umahi didn't hide the main reason for his decision to part ways with the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Having spent several years together with the opposition party, the Ebonyi State Governor decided in November, 2020 to decamp from the party. And at the time he was joining the APC, he revealed that he left the PDP because the party has not done enough to make Igbo presidency a reality.

Before he joined the APC, Mr. Dave Umahi was very close to the president. He seldom joined the PDP to condemn the activities of the president. And he was welcomed into the APC upon his defection from the PDP. So, Dave Umahi would be one of the southern politicians to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) can't be left behind in the discussion. The political party would want to return to power which it lost in a shocking defeat in the 2015 general elections. The party has an array of political leaders who can be see as strong enough to take over from the president.

Notable among the potential PDP politicians is Mr. Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State governor. He remains committed to the progress and development of the PDP and he can lead the party to an unprecedented success in 2023 if he shows interest in the job. He can be one of the possible persons who will most likely take over from the president.

Peter Obi is a possible politician who can take over from the president. He is a former governor of Anambra State and he was the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 presidential election. And since that time, Mr. Oni has been at the forefront. If the PDP decides to produce an Igbo president in 2023, Mr. Obi would be one of the contestants for the job.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says her life was threatened for saving Nigeria huge sums of money from oil subsidy scam while serving as the country’s finance minister.

Okonjo-Iweala served as finance minister under the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking during an interview organised by Atlantic Council, a United States think-tank on international affairs, on Tuesday, the WTO DG said her life was threatened for doing her job.

Okonjo-Iweala said during Obasanjo’s administration, she worked to ensure renegotiation of Nigeria’s debt in the international community.

She said Nigeria was indebted by $30 billion to the Paris Club with a debt service of $2 billion a year, of which the country could only pay $1 billion.

The former minister said the country’s debt was later systematised with the help of good reforms.

During the period, Paris Club reached an agreement to grant relief of about $18 billion (60 percent) on the $30 billion owed, which lowered Nigeria’s external debt from $35.94 billion in 2004 to $20.48 billion in 2005.

During Jonathan’s administration, Okonjo-Iweala said her effort was directed at tackling corruption and improving the financial system with the use of technology.

“And just by having an integrated financial management system, we were able to cut down on the phenomenon of ghost workers, you know where people used to put additional people on the payroll in the ministries, ghost pensioners, because ghost workers will graduate to ghost pensioners, and so we got rid of that and saved $1.1 billion for the government,” she said.

“So that is, we were fighting other types of corruption. We had an oil subsidy system in which we used to pay marketers.

“Oil marketers who brought in refined oil, you know, we paid them the difference between the market price, and the subsidised price that the government was mandated for selling oil to people.

“And so, that was when I came the second time. This was a big problem. When I left government the first time in 2006, these subsidies were about $2 billion, when I came back, the first thing we noticed was that it had grown to $11 billion.

“So, I asked President Jonathan that we could audit the oil accounts which he fully supported. When we audited, $8.5 billion of the accounts, we found $2.5 billion of fraudulent claims and with his backing, we refused to pay that to the marketers and that led to a series of problems, which I won’t bore you with, including threats to my life.

“My mother being kidnapped for five days was one of the worst periods of my life and it was a very tough period.

“But, that being said, I think the privilege of serving my country as finance minister for several years, to being able to work on some reforms is one of the best things I’ve ever done.”Q

As each day passes by, political parties and politicians are making moves that would enable them to triumph in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

Photo Credit: Vanguardngr

Meanwhile, although it appears like the main opposition party, People's Democratic Party PDP, may not be in a good position to successfully challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC at the presidential poll owing to the defection of many PDP bigwigs into the APC, with the recent political scenario playing out in the country, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar may emerge as Nigeria's President if he decides to run on the PDP's platform in 2023.

Moreover, worthy of note is that even though neither of the two major political parties have publicly declare their stance on agitations on zoning the next presidency to the South, it is believed that the PDP is likely not to follow such path, as it may throw open the presidential ticket for the best candidate to emerge.

Photo Credit: Punchng

If this is the case and Atiku decides to run again, there's very likelihood of him emerging the PDP's presidential candidate for the second time, as he remains the most popular aspirant in the PDP fold and may turn out to win at the 2023 presidential poll.

This would come through, especially if the Southern governors stick to their resolution of insisting on producing the next president and the also implement their ban on open grazing.

Photo Credit: PMNews

These factors are the key factors that may eventually influence how Atiku may become next Nigeria's president.

Firstly, recall that there have continued to be diverse uproar since the 17 southern governors made it known that the next president must come from the South and also agreed that by September 1, all members state must have implemented the ban on open grazing.

Photo Credit: Dailypost

But, while many southerners welcome the resolution, diverse northern groups, including the Miyetti Allah m, Coalition of Northern Groups, Northern Elders Forum, among others expressed strong opposition to the resolution, saying the South may not get the President slot they're clamouring for if it do not reverse it's ban on open grazing, as it appears it was a conspiracy against the North.

To this end, one who is familiar with the political climate years back, would agree that one of the things which made the APC to successfully wrestle power from the APC in 2015, was first because of Buhari's personality and the fact that the north believes they stand to benefit more if he attains power.

Photo Credit: Twitter @Atiku

As result, it would not be suprising if the North choose to divert their votes to Atiku, for almost similar reasons in 2023.

This is because most northerners have the fear of the unknown that a southern candidate, may not be able to aceed to many of it yearnings and requests compared to a candidate from their region.

In particular, many northerners and in particular, the CNG and Miyetti Allah alleged that the anti-open grazing policy is aimed to selectively imperil the business of cattle rearing and threaten the legitimate presence of pastoral communities in the south.

Photo Credit: Dailypost

Hence, if the APC goes ahead to present a southern candidate as being clamoured for by southern governors, but the PDP present a northerner like Atiku, the North May engage in protest votes not minding the party they belong to and vote Atiku because of ban on open grazing.

It is obvious that the north has the numerical strength when compared to the south, hence it is likely that whichever candidate the majority of them choose to support, will be the one to emerge at the poll.

Photo Credit: Punchng

But, this chances may become dim if the southern governors rescind on their decision to implement ban on open grazing.

Similarly, in your view, would you agree that the ban on open grazing in the south be reviewed ?

The political class has been inundated with the recent agitations across the southern part of the country as the region has continually called out their northern counterparts to enforce zoning in the build-up to the country's presidential elections in 2023.

Recall the southern governors had met in Lagos a few weeks ago where they all signed a communique demanding for the Presidency to be zoned to the region.

Not long after that, some northern groups rebuffed the move calling it unnecessary

Doyin Okupe, a former aide to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, has boasted that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is not his (Wike) contemporary in politics.

Okupe said he has the rights to call derailing members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to order as a senior member of the party.

His comment follows a recent public attack on Prince Uche Secondus, the national Chairman of the main opposition party at the weekend.

“I believe I have the right and the merit to call our members to order irrespective of their status in the party,” Okupe said in a statement he shared on Twitter.

The PDP chieftain pointed out that those who can measure shoulders with him in politics in Rivers State are the likes of Peter Odili, Rufus Ada George and not Wike, adding that he is a leader and senior to the current governor.

“For a fact, my own contemporaries in the political hierarchy of Rivers State are former Govs Rufus Ada George and Peter Odili. So I am a senior and leader to our indefatigable Gov Wike politically.

“Therefore, I consider it a duty to intervene at this juncture,” he said.