The govs are for Atiku, support group claims
…as OBJ lobbies for Lamido
Eleven governors of the Peoples Democratic Party are billed to meet again next month, to vote on who to jointly back for next year’s presidential race, between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido.
There was a sharp disagreement as the governors were divided over Atiku and Lamido. In the first place, Fayose is all for Atiku but the Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, seemed to have some soft spot for Lamido and the reason is not far-fetched
A top source close to the PDP Governors Forum, chaired by Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, revealed to our correspondent that this was a final resolution reached at the PDP stakeholders’ meeting, held in Asaba early this month.
The source, who craved anonymity, owing to the sensitivity of the issue, explained that at the Asaba meeting, the governors, having assessed all the presidential contestants, eventually zeroed in on the duo of Atiku and Lamido, for their final assessment.
“But there was a sharp disagreement as the governors were divided over Atiku and Lamido. In the first place, Fayose is all for Atiku but the Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, seemed to have some soft spot for Lamido and the reason is not far-fetched. We learnt that former President (Olusegun) Obasanjo had reached out to Wike to push for Lamido at the meeting, in a determined move to ensure that Atiku did not get the PDP ticket,” the source disclosed.
But eventually, according to the source, the 11 governors resolved to meet again and put the two candidates to vote in another gathering composed by members of the Governors Forum alone, as members of the National Working Committee of the party were also present at the Asaba meeting.
The source said, “The logic is that, since the governors are 11, which is an odd number, a winner will emerge from the vote and that winner will become the consensus candidate of the governors.
“And as we all know, when it comes to the presidential primary election in this era that the PDP is out of power and there is no President to influence delegates, the governors hold the knife and the yam; they control delegates from their respective states.”
HOW OBJ ROOTED FOR LAMIDO
Shortly before the Asaba meeting, hosted by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Obasanjo, whose relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari has been less than cheery, following a damning open letter he wrote to the President, was said to have taken deft moves to regain relevance in the opposition PDP, a party on which platform he was President for eight years.
Though Obasanjo had floated the Nigerian Coalition Movement, which he said was not a political party, unfolding events indicate that the Coalition is prevaricating between dissolving into the opposition PDP or forming a mega party (to include the PDP), all in a bid to kick out Buhari’s APC in 2019.
Obasanjo, it was gathered, had foreshadowed the emergence of Atiku in the PDP, a party that the coalition would still ‘do business with’, hence, his various moves and tours to the homes of various PDP leaders to seek their support, allegedly for Lamido, as against Atiku.
So far, OBJ, as the ex-president is fondly called, has visited former President Goodluck Jonathan’s house, where he slept and dined. He was reported to have even attended his church on a Sunday. He has also visited many state governors, who include his acclaimed foe, Fayose.
According to a top source close to one of the governors who opted to be anonymous, the recent celebrated letter written by OBJ to Buhari, in which the former president is now politically lionised, makes a Lamido option look plausible.
Another source close to Wike, who would not want his name mentioned, said the governors, earlier, had a telephone conference with OBJ before the Asaba meeting. During the telephone discussions, Obasanjo reportedly told them his preferred candidate, which is Lamido.
When it comes to the presidential primary election in this era that the PDP is out of power and there is no President to influence delegates, the governors hold the knife and the yam; they control delegates from their respective states
The source said, “The governors are aware that with the heavyweights that have flocked to OBJ’s Coalition Movement for Nigeria, following his letter to Buhari, it is only wise for the PDP, like a prodigal son, to go back to OBJ, its father, and seek his involvement in our attempt to get a credible presidential candidate for 2019.
“Though Atiku is one of our top contestants, we dare not present his name to Obasanjo because it will be counterproductive. So, before Asaba, we listed the names of Sule Lamido, Rabiu Kwankwaso (who is still in APC) and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe for him to vet and advise us.
“But he did not waste time in telling my governor his preferred candidate, which is Lamido; though he also has some soft spot for Kwankwaso, who we are still working on, to return to PDP.”
ATIKU CAMP UPBEAT
However, ahead of the governor’s rescheduled meeting, where Atiku and Lamido choices are to be put to the vote test, former Vice President Atiku is already jubilant, expressing the full conviction that the 11 PDP governors are for him.
Speaking for his principal, the National Coordinator of the Atiku Support Group, Comrade Mark Wosi, in an interview with our correspondent in Yola, Adamawa State, said the coast was now set for the defeat of Buhari in the next election “as Atiku is the choice of all the PDP governors.”
He dismissed the possibility of a Lamido emergence, saying “the direction of wind is well known to all Nigerians.” “Among the people that have already indicated interest for the country’s Number One job under the PDP, none of them has Atiku’s credentials,” he added.
Wosi applauded the PDP governors for “the Asaba adoption of my principal as flagbearer of the party ahead of the 2019 general election,” describing the development as “a patriotic move to salvage the nation from this bad government.”
He said, “We heard the news that PDP governors met in Asaba to have discussion on some issues, which were not made public.
“But from the rumour making the rounds, we learnt that my principal was endorsed to be the candidate of the party. All things being equal, if they really endorsed Atiku, the prayers of the common Nigerian have been answered.”
ECHO OF THE ASABA MEETING
Meanwhile, the Asaba meeting also reportedly deliberated on how to reclaim power from the ruling APC, and resolved to raise a reconciliation committee to resolve lingering disputes at the various state levels.
Speaking to our correspondent while in Asaba, the National Chairman, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said the party had begun the process of reclaiming government at the centre in 2019, adding, “We have vowed not to repeat the old order and we have reassured our leadership and our people that we will devolve power down to the states, so that they can take responsibilities.”
On what the party was doing to check the defection of his members to the APC, Secondus said, “I believe that those who left the party would soon come back. There is fear in the country, and very soon, you will see a political Tsunami, that even key members of the ruling party will be coming en-masse to PDP.”
“The Coalition for Nigeria Movement will never be a threat because we are a solid political party, founded by our founding fathers. We are solid on the ground, and I believe that they are a threat to the other parties and not our party,” he added.
He expressed confidence that Nigerians would speak with one voice through their voter’s cards by voting for the PDP in the 2019 general elections.
He said, “The weakest point in the history of the PDP is that we lost in the 2015 elections, but we should take advantage of the monumental failure of the APC. They came with a government of vengeance, and we must emphasise that our people must have voter’s cards because Nigerians want us to come together and rescue the country in 2019.
“The NWC is here in Asaba to consult with our Governors and we are presenting our roadmap to victory to them; and we will consult with members of the National Assembly, too.”
Secondus also informed stakeholders that the PDP had been repositioned, “with strong emphasis on the power of the people, the electorate, who will always be given the chance to make their choice in a free, and fair manner, without fear.”
Also speaking, Wike said the desire of Nigerians was for the PDP to take over power at the centre in 2019, noting that based on performance, there was no fear about the party losing any of the states where it had already won the governorship position, “with many more states counting.”
*Additional report by: Ayuba Lasisi (Yola)
