"I am not bothered, says Atiku
Former military Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, is primed to emerge as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the February 14, 2015 election as support for his candidacy continues to grow among influential party members. His chances at the December 2 national convention, where the party’s presidential candidate will emerge, have become brighter with the resolve of APC governors to throw their weight behind him.
Given the peculiarity of Nigeria’s political environment, the governors, as party leaders in their states, play central roles in the emergence of a presidential candidate, especially for the nation’s two leading political parties, APC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As the party leaders in their respective states, they control the structures and by extension the delegates to the national convention who in turn will elect the party’s presidential candidate.
New Telegraph learnt that the governors’ decision to back Buhari was arrived at after the APC governors did a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis on the four aspirants that have indicated interest in the presidential race.
Those in the race apart from Buhari are former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso and publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah.
Kwankwaso was knocked out of contention because of his “limited” political scope, which is restricted only to Kano State while Nda-Isaiah is considered to be a lightweight who does not have political base even in his home state, Niger. The governors also do not see the former vice-president as being “strong” enough to defeat Jonathan in the North.
The governors’ preference for Buhari was evident during his October 15 declaration at the Eagle Square, Abuja where four of them – Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) attended the event unlike a situation whereby none of them was present at Atiku’s declaration on September 25.
Buhari’s electoral strength as demonstrated in the previous elections, especially in the 2011 presidential election, in which he garnered about 12 million votes, convinced the governors of his ability to beat President Goodluck Jonathan, who from all indications will emerge as the PDP’s standard bearer.
In the 2011 election, Buhari, who was the candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), won in 12 out of the 19 northern states of Bauchi,
Gombe,
Jigawa,
Kaduna,
Kano,
Katsina,
Kebbi,
Niger,
Borno,
Sokoto,
Yobe and Zamfara.
Jonathan won in seven states of Kwara,
Kogi,
Plateau,
Benue,
Nasarawa, Taraba and Adamawa.
The former head of state polled 11, 914,953 votes while Jonathan secured 22, 350, 242 votes to emerge as president. Buhari, before his declaration, had held meetings with virtually all the APC governors, seeking their support for his ambition.
“We are confident that with Buhari as APC presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan will be in for a big battle. You know Buhari does not have money, but we have resolved to deliver the party ticket to him and provide the needed logistics. All things being equal, the Buhari candidacy is a done deal,” an APC governor told New Telegraph.
The governors have stepped up mobilisation for the former military ruler who had contested the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections on different platforms.
It was learnt that the governors are mobilising funds for Buhari to match the heavy war chest of Atiku. The governors are also funding some of the states where the party has no governors or elected public office holders. A source told New Telegraph that Amaechi is mobilising the party structures in the South- South for Buhari and he is also liaising with his Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha, mobilising party members in the South-East. The party leadership is also pro-Buhari as one of the leaders of the party and former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, is among those mobilising support for Buhari.
A source said Tinubu had met some governors, especially those from the South-West, and persuaded them to back Buhari. However, the support of the governors for Buhari may cost Tinubu the vicepresidential slot reportedly ceded to him. Tinubu has been considering three of his lieutenants as Buhari’s running mate.
They are: former Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osibajo; former Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Yemi Cardoso and Senator Ajayi Borroffice. But it was learnt that as a condition for supporting Buhari, the governors are determined to present one of their own as his running mate.
Already, Oshiomhole is being considered to be Buhari’s running mate based on his popularity, mass appeal and for being less controversial. “The governors are looking in the direction of Oshiomhole as running mate to Buhari because he has mass appeal.
The fact that he is also from the Niger Delta also confers an advantage on him. The essence is to divide the Niger Delta votes. Oshiomhole will also receive more sympathy from the people than Amaechi who is seen as President Goodluck Jonathan’s enemy,” the source said.
But Atiku has dismissed the claim that the governors have endorsed Buhari as the party’s candidate, saying he is not bothered by their position. “That story is false. Whoever tells you that all the APC governors are sitting down to pick one candidate, is not telling the truth.
The governors are divided in their opinions as Nigerians. That is all I can tell you. We are not making too much noise, when the time comes people will know who is who,” Atiku, who spoke through his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, told New Telegraph. The former vice-president, however, dismissed reports that he could defect from APC if he lost the presidential ticket.
“Atiku has said APC is the final bus stop, so we are not going to jump into any crisis concerning his political future,” Shehu said. Meanwhile, the APC has debunked insinuation that the party was formed to return power to the North. The party’s National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, said APC had no Northern agenda.
He said: “It is not about producing a northern or southern president. We want to produce a Nigerian president.
We want to produce a president who will work for the country, sacrifice himself for the country and be selfless in discharging his responsibilities to the country and who will be acceptable to every Nigerian as an upright person who can fight corruption and bring development to the country.
That is what we want and not about south or north. “We want to have somebody who will fight corruption because it is the major dent that is underdeveloping the country. We want somebody who can fight insecurity and restore peace, harmony and tranquility in all communities. This is our hope and I don’t think we will now restrict this to either south or north.
These are political boundaries.” On zoning of the presidency, Buni said: “APC is poised to give the best president who will be ready to address the problems militating against the development of Nigeria.
This is our common problem and it is our common challenge. So, it is not about where the person comes from.
“Let me tell you that the level of poverty and degradation and impoverishment in this country has no boundary of south or north, Christian or Muslim. “We are all suffering and nobody is left out.
Everybody is desirous of change and that is why the APC is poised to produce the best president for this country.” As at today, all the presidential aspirants of the APC are from the North. The party is also in the process of amending its constitution. Asked if the amendment has to do with the party’s presidential primaries, the party said: “It is the processes.
Anything that serves as impediment to any of our operations has to be looked into.” APC has been trying to get a system of primaries that would suit the party for its choice of presidential candidate. They are looking at indirect primaries, direct primaries and modified direct primaries. According to a source in the party, APC will amend its constitution to adopt a system that will agree with the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act.
Source: #NewTelegraph_News.
No comments:
Post a Comment