Presidential candidate: Nigerians’ll help us choose among Saraki, Tambuwal, Atiku, Kwankwaso, others, says PDP
As the
competition for the presidential ticket of the opposition Peoples Democratic
Party gets stiffer in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the party has
said that it will rely on Nigerians to help the party choose its candidate for
the presidential election.
The National
Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in an exclusive
interview with the Media on Friday, said the party had heard that many people,
including a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Senate President, Dr.
Bukola Saraki; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; his colleague in Gombe
State, Ibrahim Dankwambo; and a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso,
were interested in picking its presidential ticket.
He, however,
said the decision to rely on Nigerians was premised on the party’s
determination to avoid past mistakes, impunity and imposition of candidates.
According to
Ologbondiyan, the party is not backing any of those in line to get its
presidential ticket. Others interested in getting the party’s presidential
tickets are a former Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau; former governors
of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and Ibrahim Turaki; and a former Governor of
Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa.
He said, “As
a party, we have so many candidates already, but Nigerians will determine their
next president.
“Nigerians
are desirous of change; there is no argument about that. And it is more than
obvious that the APC is bent on presenting President Muhammadu Buhari for a
second term. The party does not have any other alternative. So, Nigerians
desiring change can’t get it in the APC. They are looking at the PDP. We don’t
want to disappoint them again.
“There are
so many demands in the country now. Some people are agitating for
restructuring, some want a leader with experience, not somebody that will get
to power and wait for another six months before appointing ministers, some want
young people. All of these factors will come to play in selecting our
presidential candidate.
“Nigerians
will signpost who they believe should lead them. We want to produce a credible
candidate. Nigerians will sing the song of the one they want to lead them; the
party doesn’t have any candidate yet.”
He added,
“Currently, there are debates over the age of who should be our President,
whether the President should be young or old. Therefore, there are so many
aggregations of opinions, so what Nigerians say about the kind of candidate
they want will inform our choice.
“We don’t
want the party to be damaged again over allegations of imposition.”
Since
President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to seek re-election in 2019,
there have been discussions in political circles about who can successfully
challenge him at the poll, especially in the opposition parties.
In a bid to
challenge the ruling APC, the PDP and no fewer than 30 parties had recently
formed a coalition in readiness for the next general elections.
Called the
Coalition of United Political Parties, the collaborating parties and
associations had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly present
candidates for elective positions.
However,
this has not stopped some members of the PDP from signifying interest in
getting the main opposition party’s presidential ticket.
Lamido,
Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, Atiku set for battle over PDP ticket
Meanwhile,
sources in the PDP have told Saturday PUNCH that the recent defection of Tambuwal
and Kwankwaso has altered political calculations among some members of the
party.
It was
learnt that with the two leading politicians’ interest in the presidential
ticket of the party, the number of strong contenders for the party’s ticket
from the North-West had increased to five.
The
North-West, which arguably accounts for the highest number of votes per zone,
is Buhari’s traditional political stronghold.
The zone is
home to seven states, the highest number in Nigeria’s six geo-political zones
structure.
A top
ranking member of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
retribution, said, “Before now, the former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido;
his former Kaduna State counterpart, Ahmed Makarfi, and a former Minister of
Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), were the most visible contestants from the
North-West.
“All three
lay claim to their fidelity to the cause of the PDP throughout the years as
strong selling points.”
This was
earlier corroborated by Lamido in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, when he said,
“If we (those who remained) had left the PDP like others, would there have been
a PDP to return to?”
Until
Tambuwal’s recent defection, the PDP had no sitting governor in the entire
zone.
However, the
arrival of Tambuwal and Kwankwaso in the picture has renewed PDP’s confidence
of giving the APC and its candidate a good fight.
Authoritative
sources within the PDP told the media that Tambuwal had consulted widely on his
presidential ambition before his decision to dump the APC, on which platform he
was elected governor in 2015.
Some of the
sources, who were privy to the workings within and outside the party, said
Tambuwal was being considered as a possible candidate because of his age,
educational background, cosmopolitan nature and experience.
It was
gathered that the former Speaker’s experience in the legislature was also being
considered as an added advantage as he was initially to challenge Buhari for
the APC ticket in 2014, but had decided to contest the governorship of Sokoto
State.
Kwankwaso’s
supporters, on the other hand, argue that his popularity in his home state of
Kano, which is reputed to have accounted for Buhari’s 1.9 million votes in
2015, and the support he enjoys in other states in the North is “as good as
that of the President in the region.”
Kwankwaso,
who was second only to Buhari during the 2014 APC presidential primary, is
being considered as someone that could pose a threat to Buhari’s re-election
bid.
The former
Kano State governor has however left the decision about his political future in
the hands of the party.
Kwankwaso’s
spokesperson, Binta Spikin, said, “I don’t know about that (presidential
ambition) because now that he is in the PDP, it is for the party to decide
whether it will hold a primary or adopt a candidate.
“I don’t
know about that. Until the party speaks, I cannot say anything on that. I can
only hope that the party sees the potential in Senator Kwankwaso and give him
the ticket.”
Another
source in the PDP, who also spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to be
seen as taking sides, said, “The candidate that the PDP needs is someone who
has the capacity to deflate the support base of President Buhari (especially)
in the northern part of the country.
“It should
be someone who is seen as representing the entire country and will not treat
those who didn’t vote for him with less attention. Both men are believed to be
popular in the northern part of the country.”
However,
Director of Media and Publicity, Atiku Presidential Campaign, Mr. Segun Sowumi,
expressed confidence that the party would see what his principal is to offer
and give him the chance to be its presidential candidate.
He said,
“Atiku has over the years been convinced that Nigeria can be great and he also
believes that so much of the greatness that people believe Nigeria can be rests
on the leadership and he has also had the opportunity of being inside and
outside government and knows what needs to be done.”
‘Saraki under
pressure to join presidential race’
One of
Saraki’s loyalists in the Senate, who also spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorised to speak to the media, explained that the Senate
President was under pressure to join the presidential race.
The source
said, “He is seriously under pressure by so many groups, friends in business,
politicians – senators and governors, traditional rulers and others. But as you
may know, he is somebody who listens more and will only smile than say what he
will do.”
But when
contacted, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said
he did not know the lawmaker’s political aspiration.
“I cannot
answer the question (on his presidential ambition), it is only he (Saraki) who
can do that,” he said.
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