2023 APC Primaries: Top 10 Presidential Aspirants

Over 20 individuals have declared their intentions to run for the 2023 presidency on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Among the individuals are past governors, the vice president and many other party chieftains.  Amidst the numerous declaration, nominations and campaigns, we have compiled the top 10 2023 APC presidential aspirants.

The Party has been in the news after raking in the sum of N1.23 billion from the sale of Nomination forms to 17 Presidential aspirants.  The party will however hold its presidential primary from May 29 to  May 30 to determine who will emerge as the party’s candidate during the  2023 presidential election.

Top 10 APC Presidential Aspirants

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1. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Leading the top 10 APC presidential aspirants is Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu, one of the core founders of the Party. He was the first in the party to declare his intention to contest the incoming 2023 presidential election.

Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu was the executive governor of  Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.  He began his political career in 1992 when he joined the Social Democratic Party where he was a member of the Peoples Front faction led by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. He was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.

During his tenure as the governor of Lagos State, Tinubu reportedly designed a master plan concerning the infrastructural and economical development of the state.  He instituted a reform plan that greatly improved the welfare of judicial officers and magistrates in the state, revamped the civil and criminal procedure rule as well as the creation of the Citizens Mediation Centre; a well-staffed and independent Office of the Public Defender, offering legal services for the poor.

2. Yemi Osinbajo

The Vice President of the federation, Professor Yemi Osinbajo joins the 2023 APC presidential aspirants after announcing his intentions in April 2022. Yemi is a core member of the All Progressive Congress. He alongside other notable members designed the party manifesto after it was established in 2013.

Yemi began his career as a law lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria.  He became the Adviser to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola in the ’80s. In 1997. He became a professor of law and head of the Department of Public Law, University of Lagos.

Prior to his appointment as the Attorney general of Lagos State, Osinbajo was a Cabinet Member of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. He is also a member of the Justice Division of the United Nations Operations in Somalia and the United Nations Secretary General’s Committee of Experts on Conduct and Discipline of UN, Peacekeeping Personnel around the globe.

3. Orji Uzor Kalu

The chief whip of the senate Orji Uzor Kalu joins the 2023 presidential aspirants after announcing that he will be facing Tinubu at the Eagle square.  Uzor had previously served as the Governor of Abia State, from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He has also served as the chairman of the Borno Water Board and the chairman of the Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited.

As Governor of Abia state, Senator Kalu designed and adopted a strategic approach to tackling poverty, job creation, and huge investment in key infrastructures, affordable and quality health care, and pro-poor policy, In the National Assembly, he promoted a series of pro-poor legislation aimed at improving the well-being of citizens and the country at large.

Prior to his recent declaration, Uzor Kalu had contested the April 2007 general election under the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) losing to PDP’s Umaru Yaradua.

4. Rotimi Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi is an APC chieftain who is currently serving as the Minister of Transportation. He declared his intention to run for the presidency in April, joining the list of the 2023 APC presidential aspirants. He previously served as the Governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 and Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007.

Amaechi began his political career serving as a Secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Between 1992 and 1994, he was Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. In 1999, he contested and won a seat to become a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly. He was subsequently elected as the Speaker of the House of Assembly.  In May 2003, he was re-elected as the Speaker.

Amaechi replaced Peter Odili as the executive governor of rivers state In 2007.  While he was the governor, his administration invested in infrastructure development, and the construction of roads and bridges, sticking to the vision of connecting all parts of the state by road.

The governor committed to urban renewal and modernization of transportation services. Amaechi built a monorail to provide mass transportation within the city of Port Harcourt, and Some power plant projects (Afam, Trans Amadi, Onne) to improve the power supply in the State.

5. Rochas Okorochas

Former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha,  join the list of the 2023 APC presidential aspirants after announcing his bid on January 31. During his formal declaration, he described himself as “Captain Rochas”, who is ready to be the “pilot for a new Nigeria”.

Despite the series of corruption allegations against Rochas, he is presently serving as a senator in the 9th Nigerian Senate, representing Imo West Senatorial district. He began his political career as a  Commissioner on the Federal Character Commission and a Member of the National Constitutional Conference. He was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Adviser on Inter-Party affairs in 2003.

Rochas became the governor of Imo State in April 2011 on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance. His administration reportedly built 305 primary schools, 30 hospitals 27 Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres and the  first international cargo airport in Imo state

On 2 March 2013, He led an APGA faction to form the All Progressives Congress. He was later elected by his colleague governors in the opposition as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum. He was re-elected as the over of Imo State in 2015 and into the Senate in 2019.

6. Kayode Fayemi

Kayode Fayemi, The former Governor of Ekiti State joins the list of the 2023 APC presidential aspirants after declaring his intention to run at the Hilton Hotel, Abuja in the company of his wife, members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, and traditional rulers.

Fayemi made his entry into politics in  2007  contesting for the Governorship of Ekiti State under the defunct Action Congress.  Although he initially lost the election, He was however declared the Governor of Ekiti State, after three and a half years of litigation.

After losing his re-election to Ayodele Fayose in 2014, he was appointed as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development under President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet. He however resigned to contest as the Governor of Ekiti State in 2018.  Fayemi won the election and was sworn in as Ekiti State governor for the second time.

7. Ben Ayade

The current governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade joins the list of the 2023 APC presidential aspirants, after declaring his intention to run in 2023 April. He however noted that he would only step down from the race if former President Goodluck Jonathan is in the contest.

Ayade ventured into politics when he ran for a seat in the Nigerian Senate in the 2011 elections as a member of the PDP. During his term in the Senate, Ayade held the position of vice-chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology. He was also a member of other committees such as Petroleum Downstream, Education, Drugs/Narcotics/Crime etc.

He ran successfully for the office of governor of Cross River State in April 2015 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and was re-elected in the 2019 gubernatorial elections. Prior to the declaration of his presidential ambition,  Ayade defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

8. Adams Oshiomole

Former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole joins the list of APC presidential aspirants after making his declaration in  May. The APC Chieftain made his declaration after announcing he would contest for the Edo North senatorial seat.

Oshiomole began his public service as a full-time trade union organizer in 1975. He was appointed General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, in 1982 and became president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, after democracy was restored in 1999.

As the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, he negotiated a 25% wage increase for public sector workers during the Obasanjo administration.  He also led strikes and demonstrations against the increase in fuel prices. He faced arrests, tear gas and temporary blockades of union offices.

Oshiomhole represented African workers for two terms on the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO), serving on the committee on Freedom of Association. He was also a member of the executive board of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

9. Godswill Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio joins the list of the 2023 Presidential Aspirants after declaring his intention this May. The ex-minister said he is determined not to let Nigeria sink, noting that the “deep well of experiences” he gathered in service has prepared him for the presidential position.

Akpabio began his political carer in 2002 when he became the commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources in Akwa Ibom State. Between 2002 and 2006, he served as a Commissioner in three key ministries: Petroleum and Natural Resources, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, as well as Lands and Housing.

In 2007,  he was elected as the governor of Akwa Ibom on PDP’s platform and was re-elected for a second term in office in 2011. In 2015, he contested and won the Senate seat of the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District (Ikot Ekpene).

Akpabio was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari and screened by the Nigerian Senate for a Ministerial appointment In July 2019. On August 21, 2019, he was sworn in as the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs. He however resigned from the post this month to pursue his presidential aspiration of becoming the President of the Federation.

10.  David Umahi

The serving Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi joins the 2023 APC presidential aspirants, promising to replicate his feats as a governor at the national level.  He was one of the three PDP governors that defected from the opposition party to the ruling party between November 2020 and June 2021.

He ventured into politics in 2007, as the acting chairman of the Ebonyi State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party. From 2009 to 2011, he served as state chairman of the party. In 2011, Umahi was appointed as the deputy governor of Ebonyi State on a ticket with the-then Governor Martin Elechi.

He was elected as the  Governor of the state on the 12th of April 2015, in an election that has been challenged on the basis of “widespread irregularities, killings, and wanton destruction of property”. Umahi will round off his second term in office in 2023, after his re-election on the 16th  of March, 2019.

Summary

For the sake of emphasis, here is a recap of the top 2023 presidential aspirants in the All Progressive Congress.

• Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
• Yemi Osinbajo
• Orji Uzor Kalu
• Rotimi Amaechi
• Rochas Okorochas
• Chris Ngige
• Ben Ayade
• Adams Oshiomole
• Godswill Akpabio
• David Umahi