A group of ANC heavyweights calling themselves "Boko Haram" appear to have bolstered Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's chances of succeeding President Jacob Zuma as ANC leader in 2017. According to reports, a number of party bigwigs serving in national and provincial legislatures joined the group over the weekend. They are said to include two former premiers, one former provincial secretary and a host of MECs, party regional secretaries and heads of departments in the Limpopo provincial government. This paper has been informed that ANC leaders from Gauteng, along with "Boko Haram", met secretly in Makgobaskloof outside Tzaneen in Limpopo a fortnight ago. They decided to back Ramaphosa. Yesterday, ANC Gauteng spokesperson Nkenke Kekana declined to discuss the matter. "No comment," said Kekana in an SMS. "We are currently without any position on the succession debate because we have not yet discuss the matter." Last week, it was reported that "Boko Haram", a new lobby group from Limpopo – named after the Nigeria-based terror organisation – wants Ramaphosa to take over from Zuma as ANC president in 2017. Ramaphosa's road to the presidency was also given the thumbs-up by the SA Democratic Teachers' Union yesterday. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union and Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA have already thrown their weight behind Ramaphosa. The battle to succeed Zuma has been kept quiet, but those in the know say African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is a serious contender. Meanwhile, former sport, art and culture MEC and ANC MP Joe Maswanganyi has distanced himself from "Boko Haram". The group fell out of political favour after former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, whom they supported, lost to Zuma at the ANC's 2012 Mangaung conference. The move to back Ramaphosa is opposed by the "Premier League" – led by Free State Premier Ace Magashule, North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo and Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza
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