Bola Tinubu's legitimacy as Nigeria's president may still be facing strong legal challenges on multiple fronts, but his All Progressives Congress (APC) is already eyeing a second term in 2027.
The former Lagos governor took over office less that two months ago after winning a controversial closely-fought election ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and 15 other candidates.
Second-placed Atiku and third-placed Obi have challenged his victory and separately argued they won the election instead, with verdicts from the presidential election petition tribunal expected in a matter of weeks.
However, APC chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, said in a televised interview on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 the party is also preparing for Tinubu's re-election.
"We will by the grace of God, start planning and hope we can get another mandate for a second term for President Tinubu," he said during an Arise TV interview on Wednesday morning.
Adamu confident APC will work on its problems
Adamu, a former Nasarawa governor, also dismissed reports he has a rift with the president. The party's top official publicly backed former senate president, Ahmad Lawan, to win the party's presidential ticket ahead of its primary election last year, but lost to Tinubu.
The episode has fueled numerous reports both men don't see eye-to-eye, but Adamu said on Wednesday he's been cool with the president since he won the party's ticket at the convention.
He further noted that the party is working to quell the discontent of various groups and resolve issues internally.
"We're human beings and know we're not perfect. To that extent, we'll correct where we've gone wrong and reconcile where there are genuine differences between us," the former senator said.