The Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan may be receiving his very first political blow from Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu whom he challenged for the All Progressive Congress, APC presidential ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
The fact that they both share the same name – “Ahmed” may not matter anymore as they prepare to slog it out for the Yobe North Senatorial ticket, which Lawan needs to return to the senate.
The former Lagos State governor, who trounced other challengers including Senator Ahmed Lawan to win the APC ticket, may be out for an early fight with the Senate President for having the audacity to challenge him.
In his acceptance speech following his victory, Senator Tinube promised his former challengers that they have nothing to be afraid of. He therefore required all of them to put hands together to deliver the party and himself in the main election in February 2023.
However, he did not mince words when he admonished the Senate President for daring to challenge him in the APC presidential primary. He also subtly told Ahmed that he is now “licking his wounds” from his loss to him (Tinubu).
It now appears that in furtherance of this subtle admonition, the former Lagos State governor may be doing more to flex his muscle against Ahmed Lawan, who seeks to return to the senate after his loss in the APC primary.
This is where the APC flag bearer Bola Tinubu it seems is trying to grind him (Lawan) to a halt and perhaps finish him politically, right from his home, Yobe State.
Senator Lawan represents Yobe North Senatorial district and also currently the president of the Senate. In the usual procedure for power brokers in the political parties at the state level, candidates with the right connections can return even after state primaries to reclaim a ticket reserved for them.
Therefore, a well-connected person like the Senate President may have had this arrangement at the state level, hoping to return to reclaim the Yobe North Senatorial ticket. That is if he fails in his quest for the presidential ticket, but he is now facing stiff challenge from the man who holds the ticket in trust for him.
Bashir Michina was elected unopposed during the make shift primary for the Yobe North Senatorial ticket. He scored 289 votes out of 300 eligible votes in the election, 11 invalid votes were declared invalid.
On the strength of these facts, Bashir now lays solid claim to the ticket and shows no intention of stepping down to allow the Senate President reclaim the ticket for a chance to return to the Senate.
His (Bashir`s) audacity for daring to renege in what some watchers claim to be an earlier agreement with the APC power brokers in the state is seen as the biblical “hand of Esau and voice of Jacob”.
It is believed that the former Lagos State governor, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who is now the APC flag bearer may be the power behind Bashir Michina in his quest to clinch the Yobe North Senatorial ticket and effectively stop Lawan from returning to the senate.
The Yobe State governor and former head of the APC caretaker committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni is one of those who opposed the emergence of Bola Tinubu as the APC flag bearer. He was also one of the powers behind Ahmed Lawan`s to challenge Bola Tinubu`s admission.
