By Uche Mbah
With the position of the Vice president being stripped of most activities, speculations are rife on the replacement plans by the presidency which is said to target his replacement with another from the South west.
Constitutionally, the Vice president, though regarded as an appendage to the President-this was cited in the Atiku/Obi tribunal judgement-can only be removed through impeachment. But it appears to be clearer that the traducers of the Vice president are bent on stampeding him out of office through resignation, which is highly unlikely at this point. Some South west politicians are tipped for his replacement, including rumors of another firebrand South west pastor, Tunde Bakare. Bakare has a cozy relationship with the strong man of Kaduna, Nasir El-rufai. El Rufai has been known to visit the Oregun Church of the Pastor to hold closed door meetings with him.
Over the weekend, Bakare has hinted on this in a statement analysts regarded as flying a kite. He told his congregations that the presidency is for him come 2023, and “nobody can stop it”.
Besides Bakare, another top contender is said to be a former south west governor, who may have the imprimatur of the All Progressives Congress National leader, Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu himself, this Magazine recently reported, has been said to be behind the woes of the Vice president. but has denied any involvement in the saga. Sources, however, has hinted that Tinubu did little in his defense when he was confronted with reports of so called anti Buhari activities by the presidency, which hinged on confirmation of former Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onoghen, and the sacking of Lawan Daura, former Department of State, DSS, boss.
The magazine has been informed that even after his sack, Daura never left his official residence in Aso rock, and is currently an unofficial adviser to the president. Many indicting reports against the Vice president allegedly come from him.
Many of Osinbajo’s aids are said to be forced to relocate their offices outside the seat of power, Aso Rock.
As part of efforts to arm-twist him to resign, the Trader-money issue is allegedly being pulled from under his feet. This, according to analysts, is at the core of his crisis. “The Trader-money has become a veritable tool for the Vice president to mix up with the masses, and endear himself to the down trodden. At the Internally displaced, IDP, camps, he is seen as a hero. This rising profile was what may be worrying to Tinubu, who is not comfortable with it”, this magazine was told over the weekend.
Besides, the rumored third term agenda, recently given bite by a hitherto faceless group, is another issue that is behind his travail. Recall that a senator was elected on the platform of the APC whose political campaign slogan was that he is going to the senate to fight for Buhari life presidency. The Senate leadership has in different fora given their loyalty to the President.
Even the Judiciary appears to have become a allegedly cowed. The Atiku/ Obi case against President Buhari has ended up in favor of the incumbent in a controversial judgement.
Three of the Appeal court Judges that gave the Judgement against Atiku has allegedly been elevated to the Supreme court, a situation the opposition sees as a reward for job well done by the presidency. Atiku has gone to the Supreme court to challenge the ruling.
The last and only president that attempted to amend the constitution for his third term agenda was Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but the national assembly squashed it.
Currently, President Buhari has everything going for him. The National Assembly is likely to work towards his third term, as the leaders are all allegedly deferring to Buhari more that the country. Only recently, the Speaker of the house of Representatives threatened to report the security chiefs who ignored their initiations to Buhari, giving the impression that the House of Representatives is an appendage of the presidency.
In all these, it appears that the South east is completely excluded from the presidential shot. The zone has never ruled the country since after the civil war and, if things are based on fairness, are the group that should be given the chance. But Governor El-Rufai had insisted that the rotational presidency should be abolished in favor of merit, but posits that only Northerners merit the position for now. The zone, however, need first to tackle the issue of separatist movements.
