An Osinbajo support group made public and formal their principal’s intention to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 with the launch of a campaign office at the weekend in Abuja. 

This latest development finally reveals the vice president professor Yemi Osinbajo’s readiness to contest for the country’s top job in 2023. 

The opening of a campaign office by his supporters is a major pointer to this cause as regards the vice president’s political ambition, Channels TV reports. 

The campaign office, located at No. 15b, Buchanan Crescent, off Aminu Kano, by Emab Plaza, Wuse 11, Abuja, was inaugurated on Saturday in Abuja. It was decorated with Osinbajo’s banner, bearing the inscription, “Face of Hope.” 

However, some of the vice president’s supporters vehemently denied the office launched was Osinbajo’s campaign office, insisting that it was a mere idea of a coalition of persons aiming to lure him into the 2023 presidential race.

Mr. Emmanuel Pippa, Publicity Secretary of the group, in a statement on Sunday, made emphasis that the office belonged to the support group.

“We wish to clarify that the said office belongs to our coalition of support groups, which strongly believes in Professor Osinbajo as the leader Nigeria needs in 2023, and is determined to get him to declare an interest in running for the office of President as early as possible.”

The group said to actualise the objective of bringing the vice president into the presidential contest, they recently acquired an administrative office in the heart of Wuse 2 area of Abuja.

They added that though Osinbajo was yet to be acquainted with their activities, they intended to operate through a new organ, The Progressive Project (TPP), to coordinate the youth, women, and other groups across the federation.

The group declared: “Ours is, therefore, not a campaign office but a venue for coordination, handling of increasing volume of correspondence, and meetings in readiness for the time, when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo accedes to our request for him to run and consolidate gains made under President Muhammadu Buhari.”

The group stressed that party chieftains would lead the real campaign in the fullness of time. It also stated that being a heartbeat away from the number one job, there were countless members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and even non-partisan citizens across the federation, who were pushing for Osinbajo to succeed Buhari in the interest of the country.

The group said it was convinced that Osinbajo’s level of familiarity with the vision, achievements and challenges being handled by Buhari was second to none and that such insight would enable a new APC administration hit the ground running in 2023.

This latest development is likely to be the start of a political power tussle between vice president Osinbajo and his godfather, former governor of Lagos state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

RovingNaija awaits the unfolding of new developments as the elections get closer.