As succession pressure mounts of who replaces President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who many have said might be eyeing the position of the presidency, met with the President on Tuesday.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports President Buhari received the APC National Leader behind closed doors at the State House, Abuja.
While details of the meeting, which will be published in due course, are still sketchy at the time of filing this report, Tinubu, however, after the meeting, while speaking with State House correspondents, dismissed insinuations about a regime extension plan for Buhari.
He commended the president for taking time to dismiss the rumour in his New Year message to Nigerians, and cautioned against the haste in debating which zone of the country should produce the next president in 2023, saying such discourse at this time would affect the pace of governance.
He cautioned that discussing 2023 would distract the government from providing people-oriented services such as roads, and other development agenda of the administration.
Recall the Serving Overseer, Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, in a nationwide live broadcast, had urged the President not to leave the choice of his successor in 2023 to chance.
In the course of the programme, Bakare said it was important for the retired Major General to influence who would emerge his successor in 2023 so that his legacies would not be rubbished.
Bakare, who had declared his intention to be Nigeria’s 16th President after Buhari, who is number 15, said there was a risk that a looter might take over if Buhari did not deliberately plan and determine who his successor would be.
“God is into succession. Anyone in government that does not concern himself about succession is destroying his own legacy because the person coming after you can just mess up everything.
“Let us ask God for grace of accurate succession; that he (Buhari) will not hand over the baton of government and governance to thieves and perverts, to corrupt and power-drunk individuals, but those who are true patriots, who will serve like our founding fathers served; though not perfect, they did their best,” Buhari had said.
The Serving Overseer said by institutionalising a system of succession, Buhari would join the league of strong world leaders like the late Deng Xiaoping of China; the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Goh Chok Tong of Singapore.
“As the government of President Muhammadu Buhari ushers us into the second decade of the 21st century, the third pivotal objective of governance should be to build a strong post-Buhari legacy facilitated by accurate succession.
“In this regard, Nigeria must learn from some of the best succession examples in recent history. Of note is the legacy of Deng Xiaoping, a second-generation Chinese leader who laid the foundation for today’s China. Xiaoping flagged off the ‘Four Modernisations’ programme, which searched around the country for leaders who, in his words, were ‘revolutionary, younger, more knowledgeable, and more specialised.’
“In three decades, that programme gave China a succession of leaders who piloted China’s economic transformation, including the current President, Xi Jinping. Without their foresight, we would not be running to China today to finance our shortsightedness.
“We must also learn from Nelson Mandela who stepped aside after one term, but not without positioning the likes of Thabo Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa. We must learn from the success story of Singapore, whose former Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, once said, ‘Mr Lee Kuan Yew has always emphasised political succession, and when I took over, likewise, I planned for succession…Prime Minister Lee is also working very hard to plan for succession.’
“Therefore, even as we build institutions of democratic governance, a key responsibility that history has bestowed on President Muhammadu Buhari at this turning point in our journey to nationhood is to institutionalise systems of accurate succession that will build and sustain the Nigeria we desire. This is a task that must be done,” Bakare said.
However, in a swift reaction, Special Adviser to Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said his principal will not handpick his successor in 2023.
Speaking at a programme on Channels Television on Monday, Adesina said Buhari is interested in who succeeds him, but will not manipulate the process to favour anyone.
“By May 2023 God willing he would have finished his second term as president, he would not have stood for another term and he will be exiting. So, he has that at the back of his mind,” Adesina said.
“Pastor Bakare said he should be interested in who succeeds him, yes I’m sure the president will be interested in who succeeds him but he will not manipulate the process, to pick a successor.
“The president will not pick a successor. We know him, he is not somebody like that. Will he be interested in the process? Yes, he will. He will ensure that there is a free, fair and credible election; that nobody will come to use money and resources to bamboozle his way into the leadership of the country. It will not happen. The president will ensure free, fair and credible process; but to handpick a successor? No, he will not do that,” Adesina said.
He further stated that Buhari will not hand “Nigeria over to those who will take her back or hand Nigeria over to looters once again.
“One thing that is clear is that the president will do whatever is needful before the next set of general elections. Early enough is relative but the president will do whatever is needful,” he said.