What ASUU Strike!: ‘Buhari’s Beloved’ Education Minister, Nwajiuba, Picks APC Presidential Form

By Akombo Aondona, Abuja

In a move which some young Nigerians have interpreted as a dig at the on-going Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike in public universities and therefore humourised on social media with such glib expressions as “ASUU strike in the mud”, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has purchased the N100 million expression of Interest and nomination forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

    Nwajiuba picked up his forms on Wednesday, 27 April, 2022 in Abuja.

  The urbane, suave and youthful minister is a dark horse in the APC presidential race who a source in the Presidency described as “someone President Muhammadu Buhari loves and I will not be surprised if he turns out to be the surprise package the President has for Nigerians in general and Igbo in particular in his consensus presidential candidate for the APC.”

  Public affairs analysts were sidestepped by Nwajiuba’s decision to join the race and the fact that the relatively low-profile minister and obvious politically lightweight quickly came up with the N100 million cost of the forms.

  “I will be shocked if the young man is indeed the president’s choice for the APC presidential ticket and that will send seismic shockwaves across the political landscape. I mean how would you expect APC heavyweights like Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi, Chris Ngige and even the vice president (Prof. Yemi Osinbajo) to take that!,” an APC stalwart who does not want his name in print so that he does not jeopardise his principal’s chances in the APC presidential race told The Dream Daily Newspaper.

 Meanwhile, when it fixed the venue to obtain the primaries forms at the party’s National Headquarters, Abuja the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC may have underestimated the interest in the party’s tickets and the extent aspirants would go to demonstrate that they have the people’s backing in the 2023 race.

  It was indeed a bedlam on Wednesday as many aspirants stormed the Blantyre Street, Wuse 2, Abuja headquarters of the APC with their supporters.

Having apparently reviewed the uncontrollable situation therefore, the APC national executive has moved the purchase of forms-related activities to the International Conference Centre, Abuja.