What Tinubu meant when he said Buhari won't get automatic ticket

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu says President Muhammadu Buhari won’t get an automatic re-election ticket as the race for the 2019 presidential contest unofficially kicks off.

Tinubu was responding to Governor Rochas Okorochawho had said Buhari has right of first refusal when it comes to the APC 2019 presidential ticket.

"Supporting Buhari for a second tenure will bring about the new Nigeria we are talking about. This will put Nigeria first and the unity we are looking for will be guaranteed under this administration", Okorocha had stated.

"I am a believer of Buhari and I made it clear years ago that if President Buhari is running for president, I will not run.

"Now God has chosen him to be the president of Nigeria and some of us are witnesses that Buhari was and is still the best for Nigeria at this material time”, the Imo State Governor had added.

For a man whose day job revolves around dishing out statues, Okorocha's viewpoints shouldn't of course be taken seriously by anyone at this time.

Tinubu wasted little time dismissing Okorocha’s comments during a separate event in Akure, Ondo State.

"Governors cannot appropriate the power of endorsement to themselves," the APC national leader lectured.

Tinubu added that the APC leadership has not endorsed Buhari as its sole candidate for 2019.

Maybe he should have added "just yet".

He added that the party's flagbearer in the 2019 presidential election will emerge through a democratic process.

He said, "Buhari is a believer in the process. He believes in the rule of law. We wanted him even before the last convention and primary of the party.

"We followed all the constitutional provision and an individual or group’s opinion does not really matter at this stage, Buhari will want a normal process.

"Buhari that I know, who says he will lose at any convention? But if the national body, the national executive committee and all of us as members endorse him as our single candidate, we will not be violating INEC regulations, we will not be violating our party constitution.

"What you are hearing is just a campaign by other people who might like to do so."

What Tinubu was essentially saying is that: 'look, even though we could eventually hand Buhari the 2019 ticket, don’t jump the gun. Let’s make the rest of the world believe that we go through a democratic process before handing out our tickets'.

It’s political speak from Tinubu and no one is better at this game than he is.

ALSO READ: 'Money ran away faster than Usain Bolt under Jonathan', APC leader says

In the end, Buhari will likely get his re-election ticket on a platter, unless he decides not to have another go. And Tinubu alongside all other party chieftains will back their candidate to the hilt. They've done it before and will do it again.

It's a no-brainer. The APC isn't exactly renown for its internal democracy and no one should be fooled at this point.

The feelers one keeps getting from the political arena at the moment is that Buhari will run again. When he finally makes that announcement to have one last bite of the cherry, no one in the APC will stand in his way.

It’s really as simple as that.