*Gov. Mohammed, Saraki hail committee*Atiku, Tambuwal, Hayatu-Deen,. Lamido reject Consensus*PDP not part of process – Ayu*To hold NEC Wednesday
By Agunwa Agunwa
Attempts by Nothern presidential aspirants to produce a consensus candidate over the weekend, raised dust as stakeholders have rejected the emergence of former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and Gov. Bala Mohammed on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a group set up to harmonise their interests.
Three Presidential aspirants from the North namely: former Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki; Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal had agreed to collapse their interests and present a common candidate.
They were later joined by Dr. Hayatu-Deen Mohammed after he procured nomination form seeking for the top office.
The aspirants met with former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, the first aspirant to pick the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination forms.
Atiku it was learnt, while acknowledging the need for the aspirants to be united and work together to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was unwilling to be part of the consensus drive.
The comsensus seeking group led by Saraki, traversed the length and breath of the North meeting all the PDP governors, delegates and most of the presidential aspirants from the South.
The group also met with former President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna for advise.
The move to get a consensus they argued, was to avoid overheating the political atmosphere as well as the rancour and political polarisation that accompany primary elections.
Consensus was also supported by the newly endorsed electoral act, Section 84(9) which states, “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.”
Prof. Abdullahi a former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria who announced the outcome of the meeting held in Minna with the former Military head of state said.
“For the purpose of this exercise, it is hereby resolved that Bala Mohammad from the North-East and Bukola Saraki from the North-Central be presented as the Northern consensus candidates for the moment”.
He went further to explained that the four presidential aspirants in the PDP, Tambuwal, Mohammed, Saraki and Hayatu-Deen took the decision among themselves.
He disclosed that the four aspirants visited Babangida and gave him the mandate to lead the process for a consensus and agreed to abide by the outcome of the decision.
He said that aside other considerations, Saraki and Mohammed were selected because their zones (North-Central and North-East) deserve to produce the president in 2023 since they have not had a shot at the Presidency since the return of Democracy in 1999.Senator Bukola Saraki has described the decision as a welcome development. In a statement from SA Media to Bukola Saraki, Yusuph Olaniyonu on Sunday, the former Kwara State governor said,
“It is a welcome development. The process that eventually led to this decision cannot be faulted. It was pain-staking, thorough and transparent. One needs to commend and appreciate the elders who worked to actualise the process.
“Their decision was based on equity, justice, and need for inclusion of all. Yes, one consensus candidate has not emerged but they have initiated a process which can help the party later on. The process is a work-in-progress”.
Also commending the decision of the elders is Prof. Udenta 0 Udenta Chairman and Spokesman Sen. Bala Mohammed Presidential Campaign Organization.
In a statement on Sunday, Gov. Mohammed described the decision as a “display of patriotic duty and uncommon leadership of the elders in attempting to bring order and coherence to bear in a condition of acute political uncertainty and fractured political process.
“The Sen. Bala Mohammed Presidential Campaign Organization believes strongly that the search for consensus, unity, solidarity and shared vision among the PDP presidential aspirants is a worthy move and a patriotic venture that aims at reducing unnecessary tension, acrimony and unhealthy diatribe among competitors and restore back to our politics the culture of reaching common ground, the reduction of the politics of bitterness and the respect of all shades of political opinion. Even if the process doesn’t secure all of its set goals at the end of the day, meaning that every aspirant participates in the Presidential primaries.It would have imbibed in all aspirants the culture of placing the group above the self in the party’s shared vision of the future and in accepting the very results of the primary election”.
But The Technical Committee for the actualization of Atiku Abubakar’s Presidency in 2023, TEECOM has distanced itself from any consensus arrangement.
In a statement on Saturday the group led by Raymond Dokpesi said, “Waziri Atiku Abubakar, GCON Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999-2007 was never a part of this purported consensus arrangement and did not subject himself to this process.
“Therefore, he is Not bound by any of the recommendations and conclusions of the purported report. Waziri Atiku Abubakar as a nationalist strongly believes that Nigeria has never been so divided as it is today and any regional, zonal, ethno-religious gangup or consensus driven in this manner will further deepen and widen the wounds that urgently require to be healed.
In his reaction, Gov. Tambuwal has earlier faulted the process that led to the emergence of the consensus candidates saying that “Consensus is not working” according to a statement signed by Nicholas Msheliza, Director Organization and Mobilization for Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO).
“As a result therefore, the outcome of the Minna meeting has no consequence or any implication on the aspiration of Gov. Tambuwal, who had earlier on informed his colleagues of maintaining their agreed position that the initiative has collapsed.
“Members of the public should be reminded that what was canvassed for was a consensus candidate and not consensus candidates.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Gov Tambuwal has submitted his Presidential nomination forms and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries”.
Also adding his voice, Dr. Hayatu-Deen said in a statement, “We would like to state that the process of arriving at a consensus candidate had collapsed. The candidates involved could not reach a compromise amongst themselves, resulting in the decision of our principal, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, and Governor Aminu Tambuwal to discontinue the process.
“The announcement we witnessed yesterday was not based on the principles of equity and transparency, which we believe should lead the country and the party into the future. The committee constituted by Prof. Ango Abdullahi is completely faceless and the evaluation criteria is totally subjective”.
Former governor of Jigawa. State, Sule Lamido has stated that the position of the Nothern Elders is injurious to the North.
He said, “Having widely consulted Party Leaders across the 19 Northern States and FCT, it is hereby stated to our teeming Party members and the general public that what is reported in the Media is only the personal opinion of those who issued the statement and not the position of the PDP members in the North. Discussions are ongoing with all the aspirants in our party with a view to having a National Consensus if possible or a least working towards having a smooth acrimony free National Convention.
“The position of the Northern Elders is not only injurious to the North but equally injurious to the Northern Aspirants”.
The National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu said that the party was not part of the consensus arrangement.
Speaking with our correspondent, Simon Imobo-Tswam, spokesman of the national chairman said, “It is not a party thing. The aspirants are making their own arrangements, they want to get somebody they can present to Nigerians.
“The party has said it is giving every aspirant a level playing field. It can’t be giving contestants a level playing field and at the same time be organizing consensus for them. They are doing this on their own.”Meanwhile the PDP will hold it’s 96th National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting on Wednesday according to a statement signed by the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu.
It is expected that NEC will approve the Presidential zoning committee report chaired by Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State as well as the schedule of primary election time-table, venue for the Presidential primary, approve the formula for the various committees as well as operational budget.
