Details of the deal the North West caucus of the All Progresives Congress (APC) had with Bola Tinubu, presidential standard bearer, shortly before he announced his running mate, Kashim Shettima, has emerged.
Among others, it asked for the positions of vice president, secretary to the government of the federation, finance, works, agriculture, Federal Capital Territory and interior minister in exchange for its support to win the 2023 presidential elections.
Details of the presentation led by an outspoken governor from the zone also showed that the caucus asked the flag-bearer and the national leadership to surrender other key political appointments, including office of the national security adviser, and the headships of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL); Bank of Agriculture (BoA); Bank of Industry (BoI); Department of State Services (DSS), and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
In the presentation, the caucus noted that in view of the region’s importance and contributions to electoral victory at the forthcoming polls all these key appointments should also be reserved for the area.
But the APC flag bearer went ahead and quickly announced his vice president choice, while noting the other demands.
Currently, the North West region has nine federal ministers representing Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa.
On policy focus for the region, the APC North West caucus demanded that the incoming federal administration must address security issues frontally, especially banditry and kidnapping in the region.
It demanded that investment in quality and affordable education, especially for the young and out-of-school children in the region must be accorded priority.
The regional leaders also wants the incoming APC administration to focus on agriculture and development of brown field industry to support value chain creation; focus on infrastructure “as it is currently being done in the South West,” and leverage the region’s opportunity cost in mining, agriculture, green and renewable energy for economic diversification.
It hinged its demands partly on the basis of the role played by governors from the zone in ensuring equity and fairness in power rotation during the election of party’s presidential candidate.
According to the document, which detailed the historical analysis of the region to the party’s victory at presidential polls, the leaders noted that the North West zone is the game changer for the APC in 2023.
The presentation argued that the region contributed hugely to the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and his re-election in 2019.
Comparing the share of votes across the six geo-political zones, the North West caucus stated that the region’s APC share of votes represented 46 per cent and 39 per cent of the entire APC votes in 2019 and 2015 respectively.
“The North West contributed to the electoral victory of the APC in 2015 and 2019 presidential elections by winning all seven states – Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa.
“Indicative of its voting contributions in recent national elections, five out of every 10 votes for the APC in 2015 came from the North West, while four out of every 10 votes for the party in 2019 came from the region,” the document showed.
Projecting ahead of the 2023 polls, the zonal caucus noted that the region which contributed the largest number of delegates for the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate and boasts of the highest number of APC governors (six out of seven) will naturally provide a base for any successful electoral operations for the APC, especially in 2023.