By Memoye Oghu
A renowned political analyst and security expert, Emperor Jackson Lekan Ojo, has revealed that Alhaji Kabiru Masari may not be Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s running mate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 general elections.
In an exclusive interview in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Monday, Emperor Ojo also said that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will floor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC in the 2023 presidential election.
He further predicted that the APC will retain the governorship seat in Osun State in the July 2022 gubernatorial election in the state, even as he posited that the popularity of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi existed only on the social media.
According to him, “the person Tinubu picked now is tentative. He’s not going to be his running mate. It’s just for them to meet up with INEC time. The Kabiru Masari he picked from Katsina State is just tentative.
“I’m a political strategist and tactician and I have serious networks across the country. The person Tinubu picked now is not his special candidate; it’s just for them to beat time because there is still room for substitution.
“A lot of persons had said that they’ll pair him with Abubakar Malami, the present attorney general and minister of Justice of the federation. The day they do that, I’ll congratulate Atiku and the PDP because the day they pick Malami as the vice to Tinubu, that day the votes for APC will be deflated.”
On the 2023 presidential election, he said that PDP’s Atiku will win Tinubu and the APC. “Atiku, I mark him for victory. I’ve no reason to support Atiku, but I’m a realist. You’ll be surprised that most Yorubas will vote for Atiku because Atiku has not offended the Yorubas the way Tinubu has. Atiku is a political crowd puller.”
He further analyzed that the 2023 presidential race will be a horse race between the South and North, but that the pendulum will swing to the North because, “the North will deliver one block vote. Buhari’s popularity in the North is among the Fulanis and those people believe that the worst of them is better than the best in the South. All those votes will now go to Atiku.
“In the North, the Abubakars will always recognize the Mohammeds. But in the South, Okechukwu will not recognize Ojo; Ojo will not recognize Okechukwu. So, in 2023, it’s going to be a broken South facing a united North,” he said.
Emperor Jackson Lekan Ojo who, for the sake of equity and fairness rejected resounding calls to run for the Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of Osun state because he believes that, “it’s the turn of Oriade to produce the House of Representatives member for the constituency, further said that the popularity of Peter Obi of the Labour Party is only on the social media.
“Peter Obi will not win any LGA in Anambra State. You’re building your structures on Facebook, Instagram. Is that a structure? A structure that is not with any physical addresses? No. It would have been better for Peter Obi to have remained in PDP. There is no third force.”