• Preparation in full swing, says ex- lawmaker

Saturday Telegraph has gathered exclusively that the promoters of the new political platform being worked out to oust the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have firmed up arrangements to unveil the new party this month.

This is just as one of the major promoters of the initiative and former governor of Kaduna State Nasue el-Rufai met with his counterpart from Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and other stakeholders in Lagos, recently.

According to a former member of Osun State House of Assembly, who pleaded not to be named but close to Ogbeni Aregbesola, “I can confirm to you that the meeting between the two former governors took place ago in Lagos and it is in continuation of a series of consultations that have been ongoing for some time.”

When pressed to state when the new platform would be unveiled, the ex-lawmaker said, “From all I can see now and from the preparations on ground, it would be next month. I mean, anytime in May.”

This is coming as findings by our correspondent indicate that discussions within the coalition with regards to who picks the presidential ticket to slug it out with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been narrowed down to the 2023 Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his counterpart in the Labour Party, (LP), Mr. Peter Obi.

According to another source who is well embedded in the coalition talks, either of the two presidential gladiators is currently in vantage positions to secure the presidential ticket of the new coalition but added that their aspirations have polarised the ranks of the new arrangement.

The source who also pleaded not to be named owing to what he perceived to be the sensitive nature of the topic said, “In recent times, talks within the coalition have gradually been moving towards who picks the presidential ticket of the new party when launched and two persons have continued to form the theme for discussion and the two are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi.

“Their respective aspirations have polarised but have not in any way divided the party with many of the leaders maintaining differing opinions on the two with regards to who should fly the flag of the new party.”

He (the source) said the two different camps have been marshaling their positions with regards to the weaknesses and the strengths of each of the two candidates but stated that “talks have however been suspended to allow focus and amity.”

This is coming just as many members of what is known as Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc in the APC have made up their minds to exit the party (APC) before the middle of next month.

Though many of the members of the CPC political caucus in the APC are already leaving the party for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), those in the know told Saturday Telegraph it would take a miracle for the leadership of the ruling party to mend fences with the former President Muhammadu Buhari led group.

“It’s late for reconciliation to happen. Many of them, I mean supporters of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the CPC people, are adamant. They are as adamant as hell. They are going on with the coalition talks with Atiku’s men.

“They are yet to be pacified by all the emissaries that President Bola Tinubu had dispatched to them to tell them not to ditch the APC, but from all indications on ground, they are not yielding to pressure.

“They will likely launch their new party in May,” a source within the coalition who pleaded not to be named told our correspondent.

They stated that while Atiku and Obi are currently angling for the ticket of the new party, the CPC elements are however working towards holding on to the structure of the national chairman, the secretary and some other key positions as well as the vice presidential slot.

According to the source, Obi seems to be the preferred candidate of many leaders within the coalition. They are looking very much at him. He however added that, “Atiku is also pushing; the primary election will settle things.”

Aside these, our correspondent also gathered that the CPC bloc harbours three deep-seated issues against the Tinubu led government and some of the issues relate to perceived gross nepotism in terms of appointments and spread of projects, which they believe are heavily skewed in favour of Tinubu’s Yoruba ethnic nationality.

They also accused the current government of deliberately magnifying the perceived failures of the immediate past government by blaming the current economic and security lapses in the country on it (the past government).

Gross nepotism

Members of the Buhari caucus are of the opinion that it is not only the other five geopolitical zones that were unconstitutionally excluded from the distribution of key appointments in the Tinubu government, the government is doing nothing or very little to remedy the situation.

“The members of the defunct CPC which was the largest single electoral bloc among the parties that merged into the APC in 2013, has been virtually excluded from the leadership of the executive and legislative arms of government and this has continued to anger CPC leaders,” the source said.

Attacks on the Buhari government

Another source who also pleaded not to be named said, “As soon as the Tinubu government settled into office, former President Buhari and his legacy came under deliberate attack for a reason that wasn’t clear then, but evident now.

“Hardship caused by Tinubu’s policies and their poor implementation is being blamed on what was inherited from the Buhari administration.

“Every incident of insecurity and failure is blamed on the Buhari administration.”

Tinubu’s poor handling of insecurity in N’West

The CPC bloc in the APC also blamed the Tinubu-led government’s approach to solving security problems in the North-West, accusing it of utilising denial, media propaganda and negotiating with (and paying) bandits prompting escalation of kidnapping and banditry in states such as Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, and Kaduna States in the North-West.

“The states of North West were the most consistent electoral base of the defunct CPC and former President Buhari, and many of us see this government approach to the issue as a deliberate ploy to weaken our political base.”