2015: APC zones presidency to North

THE merging political parties under the name of All Progressives Congress (APC) have decided to zone the presidential slot to the North ahead of the 2015 election.

Feelers from the series of meetings held between top leaders of the coalition last week indicated that the APC would source its presidential candidate from the North.

It was confirmed that the party leaders are, however, battling with how to calm members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) over their objection to the decision to cede the national chairmanship slot to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

ANPP leaders were originally made to understand that the party would produce the chairman of the coalition, but it is almost certain that the ACN, with Senator Bola Tinubu’s intervention, had almost taken the position.

A meeting between leaders of the Joint Committee on Merger of the parties, which was addressed by Tinubu last week, attempted to calm the ANPP as it was affirmed that the presidential slot had been zoned to the North.

Tinubu was said to have told the meeting that the ANPP should await the time of presidential campaign to push for its candidate, since the position had been zoned to the North.

It was, however, confirmed that the merging parties have agreed to cede the national secretary position to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and that former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, is set to clinch the position.

It was also gathered that the merging parties are now gripped with the fear of a court order or an injunction which could frustrate the merger bid.

A source told Sunday Tribune that the merging parties had been told by some insiders at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the only thing that could frustrate the merger was if the rival CPC secured an injunction or court order stopping the merger process.

Meanwhile, a new challenge appears to be looming in the horizon for the fledgling All Peoples Congress (APC) as there are fears within the yet-to-be registered party that the expected defection of governors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could led to a new power struggle in APC.