The North has yet to pick a consensus candidate
for the 2015 presidential election because of the jostling among northern
governors for the office of the President, SUNDAY PUNCH
authoritatively reports.
In the recent past, some northern leaders have
reportedly held meetings to strategise on how to present a formidable northern
consensus in the next presidential election.
Our correspondent gathered that none of the seven
northern governors who had indicated interest in contesting for the presidency
had shown any willingness to back down.
Governors who have their eyes on the position are
Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Isa Yuguda of
Bauchi State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State,
Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.
All the governors are of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party to which President Goodluck Jonathan belongs. All of them are
also in their second term in office.
Ex-governors Ahmed Makarfi and Ibrahim Shekarau
of Kaduna and Kano states respectively, are also said to
be interested in the race.
Our correspondent learnt that northern leaders,
who had been planning to ensure that a northerner becomes the President in
2015, are worried by the rancour among the governors.
In the past one year, leaders of the North have
met on different platforms, insisting on replacing President Jonathan with a
northerner in 2015. The President has said he would wait till 2014 before
declaring his intention.
SUNDAY PUNCH further gathered that at
some of the meetings, the governors signified that they wanted to be President
in 2015 — a situation that has made it almost impossible for a candidate to be
chosen.
The Convener of the Coalition of Northern
Leaders, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed,
confirmed that the North’s plan to present one candidate for 2015 had been
thwarted by the individual ambitions of the Northern governors.
“As far as I know, we have not got to the point
of zeroing in on a candidate, a political party or even a strategy. From the
look of things, it is not likely to happen soon.
“This is because the last time we tried to get a
consensus candidate for the North, it was the northern governors who scuttled
the plan. About seven northern governors, who have ambition to become
President, have been busy scuttling one another’s ambition. So, the North has
not picked a candidate, and in my opinion, it will not happen soon.”
Mohammed also said the issue of a consensus
candidate, among other things, was discussed at the two-day conference of
northern leaders, which held last Wednesday and Thursday.
The conference, with the theme, ‘The North and
strategies for sustainable development,’ was organised by the Ahmadu Bello
University’s Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research.
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who was represented by the Chairman of
the Arewa Consultative Forum, Aliko Mohammed, said the North must come together
to forge a common front for the region to enjoy political progress and
development.
Apparently referring to the rancour among the
governors, Mohammed said, “Unless we come together in the North, we will
continue to have problems. I met with the Senate caucus in the North and I
asked them to reconsider the introduction of an electoral college in electing
the president.”
Also confirming the rivalry among the northern
governors, the spokesman of the Northern Elder’s Forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, said
most of the governors who had indicated interest in the position were qualified
for the presidency but that the North needed to have a united house.
He said, “Lamido and Aliyu are eminently
qualified to be President. But what they need to do now is to unite and
rationalise to choose one person as the only northern candidate for the
election. If not, if the South presents one candidate, the person would likely
win.”
According to Unongo, the North will carefully
choose a consensus candidate, based on the person’s ability to guarantee
improved security and economic development of the region, as well as the
country.
He noted that the potential candidate must also
be acceptable to people in other regions of the country.
Unongo said, “When it comes to people from the
North, who can stand for election for President, some persons like Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari and Abubakar Atiku are the names we can mention. But
now, I don’t know how acceptable they will be to Nigerians. I don’t think
Nigerians still want Army Generals.
“Another potential candidate is the
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who is the northerner in the highest office in the
country. It would be a surprise to me if he does not stand for election in
2015. If he stands for election in 2015, some of us will support
him.”
On May 17, the 19 northern governors had met in
Kaduna and expressed a determination to sink their differences and unite to
produce the President from the region in 2015.
The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum,
Governor Aliyu, who spoke on behalf of the group, said northern governors would
not allow what happened in 2011 to repeat itself in 2015.
“We must be united more than ever to go into the
2015 elections as one entity with the aim of producing the president,” he said.
However, till date, the NGF has not endorsed any
of its members to contest the election.
Punch
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