2023: Influential Nigerian Moneybags Root Against Atiku, Endorse South-south Candidacy

These powerful private sector-based individuals, according to Pointblanknews.com Investigations include Alh. Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola, Nduka Obaigbena, front-lining other top business men and women within the business community.

The investigation also revealed that this political movement is spearheaded and convened by influential media mogul and publisher of Thisday Nweapapers, Nduka Obaigbhena.

Multiple sources close to the movement revealed that the main aim of the movement, aside from raising a financial muscle on the wings of these captains of industry, is to challenge the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from emerging as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by ensuring that a weak candidate is produced.

In fact,  the source revealed that should this weak candidate emerge, their candidate who is from the South South will run against the PDP candidate on the platform of the governing All Progressive Congress (APC).

The source who craved anonymity further revealed that resources will be deployed to challenge Atiku’s bid for the party’s ticket as he seems to be the one expected to win over delegates to get the party’s nomination to fly the PDP’s flag in 2023.

“As you may have noticed, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa was initially planning to go to the Senate but suddenly he made a Volta face,  you are beginning to hear his name, that of Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel as being interested in the presidency.  All these are grand plan to scheme out the former Vice President.

“These business men were initially not happy because they were tricked into a meeting that was initially thought to be about business concerns in Abuja but later bought into the idea when the Southern candidate was revealed to them and seeing the prospects that lie in wait for their businesses, haven benefited immensely from him, they bought into it.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the “who is who” meeting packaged by Obaigbena, was first held in Abuja where the idea was first muted and sold to the business leaders.

According to another source at the meeting “it was here that this leader now agreed to the clandestine plan to back this Southern candidate who has been generous to them with his government appointment. They will back him because it will be a good investment for them.”

Findings revealed that a follow-up meeting at the Eko Hotel in Lagos state last week was to fine tune their modus operandi and finally sell the candidate to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“At this Eko Hotel meeting of the “Who is Who”, a paper will be drafted for presentation to President Buhari. It will posit that as business leaders who have criss crossed the length and breadth of the country, the candidate is acceptable to Nigerians and will entrench his (Buhari’s) achievements post 2023.

“They hope that President Muhammadu Buhari will buy into this and prevail on APC leaders to adopt this candidate.

“All this move is to ensure that Atiku does not get the PDP ticket as he may not be muscled to do their bidding. ” the source revealed.

Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State), David Umahi (Ebonyi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Professor Babagana Zulum, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and PDP presidential aspirant, Pius Anyim, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, ex-governors Ibikunle Amosun, Olusegun Osoba, Niyi Adebayo and others were said to be in attendance.

Tambuwal and Bagudu, who are both governors from the North-West zone, were said to have joined the meeting.

It will be recalled that governors from the South under the aegis of the Southern Governors Forum had demanded that the presidency of the country must come to the South in 2023.

(Pointblank.com)