The National Coordinator of Senator Godswill Akpabio for Common Good (SGACG), Dr. Jibril Tafida, has reacted to the separate meetings of Chief Bola Tinubu and Ebonyi state Governor Dave Umahi with President Muhammadu Buhari over the 2023 presidency, saying none of the duo will be match for Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Governor Umahi told State House Correspondents on Tuesday that he has informed President Buhari of his ambition to contest the presidency on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umahi’s action came barely 24 hours after APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took similar steps.
Reacting, Dr. Tafida in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna said “both Tinubu and Umahi are no match for Akpabio and as a volunteer group, “we are confident that our struggle to convince Senator Godswill Akpabio to contest Nigeria’s presidency in 2023 will eventually yield positive outcome”.
Responding to a question on whether Tinubu and Umahi’s declarations could threaten Akpabio’s prospects because they are ahead of him in going public, Tafida said the duo were “in too much of a hurry and Akpabio is a slow and steady man, who could win any race.
“We are not the least disturbed by the action of the duo because we are currently calculating and consulting with relevant stakeholders.”
Dr. Tafida assured that although his group was still working to convince Akpabio to take a shot at the nation’s presidency in 2023, the former Akwa Ibom state governor will not disappoint Nigerians”.
He explained that there was a lot to prove that Senator Akpabio, the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, is favoured by history because of his democratic credentials and age, unlike Tinubu, who is clearly old enough to play advisory role in governance at the national level. “Even at the international level, younger people are today the leaders, as can be found in France, North Korea, among others”, he argued.
Dr. Tafida also disclosed that his group, SGACG, has reached advanced stage in mobilising support for the proposed Akpabio presidency and expressed hope of successfully drafting him into the 2023 race.
