Aso Rock Cabal Angry With VP Osinbajo - Find Out Why

President Muhammadu Buhari (r) has expressed confidence in his Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (l).

As the permutations, alignments and strategies for 2019 presidential elections hot up, indication have emerged that the ubiquitous Aso Rock Cabal, a small clique but powerful individuals have taken out their anger against the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

On the list of the angry Cabal members are highly placed political appointees of President Muhammadu Buhari, including a cousin of his and member of his kitchen cabinet, a Minister of a highly visible Ministry and his father, a very close ally of the President as well as a couple other President’s close confidants, all of northern extraction. 

Trouble was said to have started during the President’s medical sojourn to the UK where he spent no fewer than 104 days before he hurriedly returned to the country when opposition to his absence from governance for that length of time reached fever high.

According to Presidency sources, members of the Cabal were said to have felt sidelined by the actions of Vice President Osinbajo, who was then the Acting President. They were said to have been particularly miffed by the fact that rather than consult them before taking any major decisions, he would rather consult the President, thereby rendering their existence ineffective and grossly irrelevant.

“They were not very happy that the then Acting President was taking his files to the President in the UK and not even considering their own input first before taking major state decisions, as against the usual norm the cabal members have been accustomed to since the inception of the Buhari administration,” a source hinted. “This did not go down well with them as they saw it as a sign of personal ambition on the part of VP Osinbajo and a calculated attempt by him to cleverly demystify their relevance,” the source added.

It was learnt that the President’s growing admiration for and confidence in his Vice, has also formed part of their worry. “They failed to see why the President has become so reliant on VP Osinbajo,” the source continued. “You know, an Osinbajo that is well acknowledged by a vast majority of Nigerians would certainly affect the power equation of the North as everyone looks towards 2019. His growing popularity, particularly the deft ways he was able to reach out to the Niger Delta militant to extract a promise from them to cease fire and the resultant increase in the activities of crude oil production in the region has left them dazed. Rather than being applauded, they see it as a wrong move against northern interests in the coming days,” the source further disclosed.

Also worrisome to them is the fact that the wife of the President appears to be working against northern interest, in their reckoning. They are said to have faulted the way she had thrown her tacit support for Osinbajo throughout her husband’s absence, refusing to interface with them but rather with the Vice President and his wife Dolapo, whom they have accused her of turning to her inseparable twin sister.

Recall that sometime in July (2017), when the wife of the President returned from a visit to her ailing husband in the UK, she had disclosed to newsmen, “President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed confidence in the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo despite insinuations from some northern elements that the Acting President is purportedly plotting to undermine the President to succeed him in 2019.” This followed the suppressed grumblings in some quarters for a number of weeks to that effect, fuelling speculations that the President was rather listening to the Cabal than to Osinbajo.

“I am sure you would recall the delay in the signing of the 2017 Appropriation as well as the delay in swearing in the three Ministers that had earlier been cleared by the Senate. It was insinuated that Osinbajo was gagged and prevented from carrying out those functions because the President needed to hear from the cabal first before giving the Acting President the required go-ahead for him to do so. These are some of the speculations the President’s wife had come out to put to rest,” the source informed. 

Members of the Cabal were said to have reached out to some top retired military officers of northern origin to curry their support on how to curb the growing popularity of VP Osinbajo as 2019 inches closer. It is not yet clear if they have got the support of these personalities as at yet.

However, late last week, a group championing a campaign for Osinbajo emerged ahead of 2019. The group, known as Volunteers 4 Osinbajo has begun strategizing on how to drum up support for the candidacy of the Vice President as a credible candidate to step into the shoes of President Buhari.

But in a swift move to counter this as a response to an earlier story allegedly linking the Vice President to the 2019 Presidential Election and the likely damage this might do to his image, Laolu Akande, his spokesperson said the group has a sinister motive to destroy the image of the Vice President. Osinbajo urged Nigerians to disregard the campaign which was launched by the group. According to Akande, those behind the Volunteer 4 Osinbajo remain faceless and target to destroy the image of the Vice President.

“Please, disregard this website created by faceless people for mischievous purposes. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Vice President. The Buhari-Osinbajo connection and the mutual trust they share is an inspiration to this nation,” Laolu Akande said.

In a similar development, the Adamawa Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has come out to condemn the growing speculation of plans by Abubakar Atiku to take a shot at the Presidency in the 2019 general elections.

According to the party, "Prof Osinbajo remains a credible alternative for 2019 presidential election.” Adding that, “Even if Buhari decides not to contest, we already have a credible alternative in Vice President Prof. Osinbajo. So the Villa is not vacant come 2019. If Buhari is not going to contest, Osinbajo is there. If indeed we are talking about one Nigeria, then we have to display it in 2019. Forget about this man coming from the North and this other man coming from the South. The important thing to ask is who will better serve Nigerians. Buhari has already laid a very good foundation for Nigerians with his anti-corruption war. If Buhari says he can no longer continue, we already have somebody with the same mind, the same thinking like Baba Buhari. The future of Nigeria is what we should be thinking about, not to bring somebody who will only think of himself, his wives and his family,” a statement by the State party said.