Will former VP be lucky this time?
There is no doubt that all eyes are currently on former vice president Atiku Abubakar on the possibility of his aspiration in the Peoples Democratic Party.
Atiku is one of the few presidential aspirants from the PDP, whom many believe can give President Muhammadu Buhari a good run in the 2019 Presidential Election.
If the aspirants do not agree on a consensus candidate, the party will be left with no choice than to conduct a primary
Though the former vice president appears to be the most favoured among other aspirants in the forthcoming primaries that is proposed for September, pundits believe that the recent development in the PDP, where many contestants have signified their interest, may put Atiku on a tight rope.
Atiku was recently rumoured to be considering moving to the All Progressives Grand Alliance to realise his ambition, due to the presence of Bukola Saraki, Kwankwanso, Lamido and others in the race for the PDP prime ticket. He was also said to be afraid of Saraki, who appeared to have a strong control of the party’s structure. But in a swift response to the rumour, the former vice president came out to debunk his alleged plan to move to APGA, saying he was ready to face all the odds in PDP to realise his long time dream.
Some of Atiku’s contestants in the coming primary
Senate President Bukola Saraki
Despite his grudge with his former political party, All Progressives Congress, the Senate President believes he has all it takes to occupy the number one seat in 2019 hence he declared his interest to contest in the race.
According to a source, Saraki who is now the PDP National Leader is expected to bank on his political sagacity which made him to successfully have his ways with his former political party, APC. He is also believed to be one of the few Nigerian politicians that is currently pulling crowd across the country. Saraki has already started consulting widely on his ambition. Among his recent moves was the homage paid to former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, among others.
Sule Lamido
If loyalty to a party is to be a factor in picking the party’s ticket for the general elections, then look no further than the godfather of Jigawa politics. He is among the G34 founding members of PDP in 1998. He is a protege of Aminu Kano. He does not believe in Ahmadu Bello kind of politics that we see in the north now. He is the first candidate to declare his intention to run for the PDP presidential ticket far back in 2016 during his court trials at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He is popular in some states in the North such as Jigawa, Kano, Gombe, Bauchi and Sokoto but he is relatively unknown in the North Central and Southern part of the country.
Musa Kwankwaso
The current senator and former Governor of Kano State is arguably the second strongest man in Northern politics just behind President Buhari. His political clout and movement, Kwankwansiyya is a force in almost all the Northern states in Nigeria. He, surprisingly, came second during the APC presidential primary only behind the winner, President Buhari. He is also very popular with the masses. But his large followership in the North does not extend to the Southern part as many Southerners see him as an ethnic bigot and religious fanatic like the president.
Aminu Makarfi
He is a former commissioner, senator and former governor of Kaduna State. He is also the founder of a popular political and civil group: The Centre for Peace, and Conflict Resolution. He is the former chairman of PDP Caretaker Committee during the crisis regarding the Modu Sheriff faction, and he brought peace and tranquility to the opposition party. The question is; does he have the delegates to win the primaries? Apart from states such as Kaduna, Kogi, Plateau and Niger, He might find it hard to garner votes from the remaining Northern states, and he has little or no followership in the Southern part of the country to help his presidential ambition.
Ibrahim Dankwambo
He is a professional accountant and the youngest presidential candidate running for the PDP ticket. If being a youth was to be a factor in getting the ticket, then look no further than Dakwambo. He has the backing of a few PDP governors such as Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa and Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State. But he is not a popular politician in the North. In fact, apart from his home state, Combe, he would find it an herculean task getting votes in the Middle Belt and other core Northern States. His governor friends and youths in the country can garner him necessary votes in the Southern part. He is the only aspirant that doesn’t have a corruption case on his neck. This can be a factor during campaign for election.
Saminu Turaki
He is a Kebbi-born politician. He is famously known as the former Minister for Special Duties during Goodluck Jonathan’s regime. He is believed to be the candidate of former President Jonathan.
Aminu Tambuwal
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Governor of Sokoto State is a political colossus in his own right. It is known that the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Kano and the governor of Rivers State are tacitly supporting his ambition. He is the second youngest aspirant and is relatively popular in the Northern region. He was famously touted as the presidential candidate of the APC before the emergence of Buhari at the last minute. He is loved in the Southern region as they do not regard him as an ethnic bigot.
Other hurdles before Atiku
Aside the aspirants that have showed their intention to run against Atiku in the race, there are other hurdles that are awaiting him at every stage of progress to realise his ambition.
For instance, his feud with his former boss, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, will, no doubt, has a way to determine his fate in respect of his ambition. Obasanjo appeared to be a die- hard enemy of the former vice president and he appears determined to scuttle his longtime dream. Pundits believe that Atiku should not undermine the influence of Obasanjo if he wishes to take over the presidential seat in 2019.
The leadership of PDP has no candidate personally. There is a level playing ground for all of them. There is no conclusion yet on consensus candidate
BoT decision on consensus
The Board of Trustees of the PDP is considering talking to presidential aspirants of the party, to discuss the possibility of picking a consensus candidate for the 2019 elections.
Chairman of the BoT, Walid Jibrin, while speaking on this also said if the aspirants do not agree on a consensus candidate, the party will be left with no choice than to conduct a primary.
“Efforts are on ground by BoT to bring all the PDP presidential aspirants together to consider how best they should accept one of them to stand, realising that despite their number, only one person will emerge as a candidate during the primaries and also only one person will emerge as the president of Nigeria,” he said.
According to Jibrin, “We have men and women of honour in the BoT that will never sell their conscience, and ensure that the best will come out of the presidential aspirant without fear and favour.”
Though, Atiku appears to be a likely candidate that the party may adopt on consensus, the input of Saraki and other big weights in the party may work against him. Meanwhile, it was also said Obasanjo’s factor will also come into play here as he is still relevant in the PDP, especially as whoever is chosen may likely become a sole candidate of the Coalition of United Political Parties.
However, a lawmaker, representing PDP Amuwo-Odofin Constituency, Mr. Dipo Olorunrinu, has advised the party’s leadership to consider Atiku as the sole candidate of the party in the forthcoming presidential election.
“Let me quickly congratulate his (Abubakar’s) boldness and courage to come out for this position at a time when our party needs a very credible and formidable personality.
“Abukakar is someone that has people around him. We should give him a very big applaud for coming out.
“Let’s see what he has on the table. Personally, I want to appreciate his decision to rule.
“The truth is that, Abubakar’s declaration will actually give the ruling party a run, not just for their money, but also their interest in governing in 2019.
“Abubakar is somebody whose popularity that cuts across geo-political and ethnic zones and he should be given a chance,” Olorunrinu said.
The lawmaker added that the former vice president has enough experience needed to pilot the affairs of the nation.
On the rising number of PDP aspirants for the seat of the President, the lawmaker urged them to support the best aspirant that could guarantee victory for the party in 2019.
A chieftain of the party, Hon. Oladimeji Fabiyi, in his take, said Atiku remains the best choice as presidential candidate for the PDP.
“I have no doubt in my mind that with Atiku, Nigerians and the PDP will be making the best choice and decision. If we as a people truly wish to make abundant progress and return PDP to power come 2019, the evidences are clear but the choice is ours to make. The messages are also unambiguous but the decision remain solely ours.
“Our party, PDP, must remember that Nigerians hope on them, the recent coalition is quite commendable and Nigerians should support the alliance initiative led by the PDP leadership under Prince Uche Secondus.
The national spokesperson of PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, told our correspondent that there is a level playing ground for all aspirants in the party. He said a decision on consensus candidate had yet to be taken.
“The leadership of PDP has no candidate personally. There is a level playing ground for all of them. There is no conclusion yet on consensus candidate ahead of the presidential election,” Ologbondiyan stated.
