Presidential Ticket: Let All Go to National Convention, Say PDP Northern Leaders

•Declare opposition party neither North nor South, but Nigeria  

•Tambuwal is a bad loser, Obisesan posits

Chuks Okocha

Leaders of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the 19 northern statesmet in Abuja yesterday and resolved that the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 general election would be determined by the May 29 PDP national convention. The northern PDP leaders, who declared that the opposi-tion party was neither north nor south, but a political group for all Nigerians, called on the citizens to stop overheating the polity with divisive arguments. 

They were reacting to a recent statement by Professor Ango Abdullahi, also a political elder from the north, that the region had picked former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed as the north’s consensus nominees for PDP ahead of the 2023 poll.

But Co-convener of The Nigerian Group, Alexander Obisesan, alleged in a statement yesterday that having pledged his commitment to the consensus initiative, Sokoto State Governor and presidential hopeful, Aminu Tambuwal, was duty-bound to respect the outcome of the Abdullahi committee on the issue of consensus candidacy. Obisesan said doing otherwise would portray Tambuwal as a bad loser.

In a communiqué signed by a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and former Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, the leaders said, “Any member of the party has the inalienable right to contest to any position, including the presidential election. To this end, only the national convention of the party on May 29 would decide the presidential ticket of the party.

“We would like to state from the onset that there is nothing called the Northern PDP. Our coming together as key stakeholders from the northern states is only for the purpose of debunking any notion or impression, which might have been created by Professor Ango Abdullahi’s media statement about the Northern Elders Forum having shortlisted consensus PDP presidential candidates.

“The Peoples Democratic Party, as conceived by its founding fathers, is and remains the foremost national political platform, wherein the democratic aspirations of its teeming members can be actualised, devoid of any sectional consideration. 

“Our party is neither northern nor southern, but Nigerian!”

The communiqué further stated that the northern leaders were happy that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) had through its secretary, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, disassociated itself from Abdullahi’s media statement, saying, “They made it clear that it is Ango’s personal opinion.”

The PDP elders stated that the aspirants had informed the northern leaders that they were discussing among themselves as well as  “consulting other senior citizens in order to create a better understanding and unity among themselves. Their ultimate objective is to build a national consensus that will produce a national candidate for the party. We urge them to keep up with this commendable effort.

“Our meeting today is to reinforce on the press release issued on 23/4/22 by Gov. Sule Lamido. We maintain that all our aspirants are qualified to occupy the Nigerian presidency under the PDP banner and we shall continue to support, promote and campaign and win the presidency by the candidate produced by our national convention scheduled for May 28th-29th 2022.

“We appeal to all aspirants to be more temperate in their utterances and work to promote harmony and better understanding within the PDP Family. We also want to assure all PDP members and, indeed, all Nigerians that we are aware of your pains, prayers, expectations and HOPE to be RESCUED. Your abiding faith in PDP shall set us free in 2023. By the Almighty’s power, we will not fail Nigeria.”

Some of the prominent faces at the meeting included Lamido, former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu; former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna; former governor of Kogi State, Idris Ibrahim; Waziri; former Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash; Senator Dino Melaye; Senator Solomon Ewuga; and Ambassador Aminu Wale. 

Meanwhile, Co-convener of The Nigerian Group said Tambuwal must abide by the outcome of the consensus committee, having previously committed to the consensus initiative.

Obisesan said, in a statement, “We urge Governor Tambuwal to accept the outcome of the process in the country’s collective interest and work for the success of the initiative as a strategic intervention for giving Nigeria a viable alternative.

“The committee adopted a fair template, because the North-west has remained the dominant zone in power-sharing in the region since 1999, and it is only fitting that other zones are allowed to represent the interest of the north. 

“It is on record that Vice President Abubakar Atiku was a beneficiary of a similar arrangement in 2010, and other contending parties respected the outcome. 

“At 75, we expect the elder statesman to concede to younger elements in the PDP and be a father to all as we seek a better alternative to the failed APC.”