Citing the need to stave off rancour, eight out of the 14 aspirants
contesting the Peoples Democratic Party primary for the Adamawa State
governorship, including former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, have stepped down from the race.
The decision by the aspirants came during a late Thursday night meeting which lasted till the early hours of Friday with Senate President David Mark and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
But it has emerged that Ribadu may have been led to believe the primary was a shoo-in for him. Following the impeachment of the former Governor Murtala Nyako on July 15, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed a by-election for October 11, to get a substantive governor for the state.
The PDP primary election billed for today in the state was heading for crisis until the intervention of the presidency which prompted the meeting. Mark, along with other officials of the party, were able to reach a compromise with the aspirants and pruned down the number of those contesting to six.
The six aspirants still in the race for the party’s ticket on Saturday are Ahmed Gulak, Buba Marwa, Ahmed Modibbo, Dr. Umar Ardo, Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi
Those who have withdrawn from Saturday primary election include Nuhu Ribadu, Auwal Tukur, Aliyu Idi Hong, Andrawus Sawa, James Barka, Gen. Aliyu Kama, Markus Gundiri and Abubakar Girei. It was learnt that the six aspirants contesting for the party’s ticket on Saturday agreed they would not vie for the position in 2015.
There appears to be an implicit agreement that only those stepping down now can contest for the party’s governorship ticket in 2015. But, as a source told New Telegraph on Saturday, the narrative may change once a contestant is elected governor.
“It would be difficult to compel an incumbent governor not to seek re-election especially in a situation where he has been on the seat for just a few months,” he said.
In the event such a scenario arises, that would have put paid to Ribadu’s presumed hope to run for the actual governorship election for 2015 whose primary holds probably in November.
Sources claim that Ribadu had been given the impression that he would be made the consensus candidate but was peeved by the apparent inability of the party to convince other contestants to step down.
Ribadu quit APC last month for the PDP, leaving members of the former flustered. But it seems his former party is now having a laugh at his expense. “We didn’t send him there. More and more drama will still be unfolding.
We are watching,” APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in reaction to Ribadu’s withdrawal from the race. Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, chairman of the Adamawa State chapter of the party, Joel Madaki said: “Fourteen aspirants contesting for the position earlier has now reduced to six aspirants due to this meeting. It is a very welcome idea. Nobody was forced to step down.
Those who stepped down did so voluntarily in order to wait to contest for the position in 2015.” “The six aspirants contesting this election are Ahmed Gulak, Buba Marwa, Ahmed Modibbo, Dr. Umar Ardo, Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi.”
He added The former special adviser to the president on political affairs, Ahmed Gulak, who is contesting for the ticket on Saturday, said: “The outcome of the meeting was fantastic.
We met as family members of PDP, even before coming here all the aspirants in Adamawa have unanimously resolved that after the primaries, in a free, fair primaries, anybody that emerges will get our support.”
“And we have resolved to go into the primaries without rancour, without acrimony and to come out of it as peaceful co-existing members.” Aliyu Idi Hong, who is among those who withdrew from the race, said: “Peacebuilding, negotiation, giveand- take, everything went well.
We have been given a caveat and one thing we have succeeded in extracting from this meeting is that the meeting started with a preamble that whoever is going to contest and if he happens to win as a governor, he will not have the right to contest the 2015 election.”
One of such offers, the New Telegraph on Saturday gathered, was a N100 million lifeline to each of the eight aspirants to help them recoup the expenses they incurred in the build up for the election due to the voluntary withdrawal from the race.
NEWTELEGRAPH
The decision by the aspirants came during a late Thursday night meeting which lasted till the early hours of Friday with Senate President David Mark and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
But it has emerged that Ribadu may have been led to believe the primary was a shoo-in for him. Following the impeachment of the former Governor Murtala Nyako on July 15, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed a by-election for October 11, to get a substantive governor for the state.
The PDP primary election billed for today in the state was heading for crisis until the intervention of the presidency which prompted the meeting. Mark, along with other officials of the party, were able to reach a compromise with the aspirants and pruned down the number of those contesting to six.
The six aspirants still in the race for the party’s ticket on Saturday are Ahmed Gulak, Buba Marwa, Ahmed Modibbo, Dr. Umar Ardo, Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi
Those who have withdrawn from Saturday primary election include Nuhu Ribadu, Auwal Tukur, Aliyu Idi Hong, Andrawus Sawa, James Barka, Gen. Aliyu Kama, Markus Gundiri and Abubakar Girei. It was learnt that the six aspirants contesting for the party’s ticket on Saturday agreed they would not vie for the position in 2015.
There appears to be an implicit agreement that only those stepping down now can contest for the party’s governorship ticket in 2015. But, as a source told New Telegraph on Saturday, the narrative may change once a contestant is elected governor.
“It would be difficult to compel an incumbent governor not to seek re-election especially in a situation where he has been on the seat for just a few months,” he said.
In the event such a scenario arises, that would have put paid to Ribadu’s presumed hope to run for the actual governorship election for 2015 whose primary holds probably in November.
Sources claim that Ribadu had been given the impression that he would be made the consensus candidate but was peeved by the apparent inability of the party to convince other contestants to step down.
Ribadu quit APC last month for the PDP, leaving members of the former flustered. But it seems his former party is now having a laugh at his expense. “We didn’t send him there. More and more drama will still be unfolding.
We are watching,” APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in reaction to Ribadu’s withdrawal from the race. Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, chairman of the Adamawa State chapter of the party, Joel Madaki said: “Fourteen aspirants contesting for the position earlier has now reduced to six aspirants due to this meeting. It is a very welcome idea. Nobody was forced to step down.
Those who stepped down did so voluntarily in order to wait to contest for the position in 2015.” “The six aspirants contesting this election are Ahmed Gulak, Buba Marwa, Ahmed Modibbo, Dr. Umar Ardo, Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi.”
He added The former special adviser to the president on political affairs, Ahmed Gulak, who is contesting for the ticket on Saturday, said: “The outcome of the meeting was fantastic.
We met as family members of PDP, even before coming here all the aspirants in Adamawa have unanimously resolved that after the primaries, in a free, fair primaries, anybody that emerges will get our support.”
“And we have resolved to go into the primaries without rancour, without acrimony and to come out of it as peaceful co-existing members.” Aliyu Idi Hong, who is among those who withdrew from the race, said: “Peacebuilding, negotiation, giveand- take, everything went well.
We have been given a caveat and one thing we have succeeded in extracting from this meeting is that the meeting started with a preamble that whoever is going to contest and if he happens to win as a governor, he will not have the right to contest the 2015 election.”
One of such offers, the New Telegraph on Saturday gathered, was a N100 million lifeline to each of the eight aspirants to help them recoup the expenses they incurred in the build up for the election due to the voluntary withdrawal from the race.
NEWTELEGRAPH
No comments:
Post a Comment