The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party were defeated in some of their strongholds during the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, and some governors whose parties did not win the presidential election in their states are now under intense pressure to win their reelection campaigns and install chosen successors, and they have started to take steps to secure their seats.
According to information obtained by Sunday PUNCH, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had been meeting with various organizations, residents associations, and communities to solicit their support for his reelection. Lagos State was the state where the APC lost to the Labour Party in the presidential election. Similar to this, Governor Seyi Makinde and his supporters were reported to be redoubling their efforts to win over voters in Oyo State, where the APC defeated the governing PDP.
Some incoming governors who lost their states in the presidential election but want to install their dependable lieutenants as their successors are now concerned that they might also lose their states.
Benue, Abia, Cross River, Enugu, Delta, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Katsina, and Gombe are among the states. Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State and one of the APC's top decision-makers, lost the state to the PDP in the presidential election, putting the future of his preferred successor, Uba Sani, in jeopardy.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), had to make an emotional appeal to the people of Kaduna to vote for Sani, whom he described as a hardworking and courageous leader, because he was worried about losing the state to the opposition party.