The
search in the North for a consensus candidate to challenge President
Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election may soon be over.
Although Jonathan has not signified an intention to seek re-election, there is serious speculation that he will.
Multiple sources told SUNDAY PUNCH
on Friday that the region’s powerbrokers are rooting for the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to run for President.
Our correspondents gathered that some
senior politicians in the opposition mega party, the All Progressives
Congress, have made overtures to Tambuwal to dump the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party and be the APC flag bearer in 2015.
A former Head of State and presidential
candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in the 2011 general
election, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the National
Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu,
reportedly held a private meeting with the Speaker last week to persuade
him to join the mega party.
Some leaders of the North, in separate interviews with SUNDAY PUNCH
on Friday, described Tambuwal as a credible alternative to Jonathan,
stating that he would get their support, whether as the flag bearer of
the PDP or APC. However, they stopped short of declaring the Speaker as
the consensus presidential candidate of the region.
The Northern Elders’ Forum said although
it had not decided on a consensus northern candidate for the presidency
in 2015, Tambuwal’s “youthfulness and performance” as the Speaker made
him an attractive option in the region’s bid to reclaim the presidency.
The spokesman for the forum, Dr. Paul
Unongo, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said Tambuwal
would get the support of many Nigerians, especially northerners, should
he emerge the presidential candidate of any political party.
He said, “I have a very deep respect for
the Speaker. He is an amiable and courageous young man who, I believe,
has served his country well. He is somebody that I know that will enjoy
the support of a lot of Nigerians.
“The Northern Elders Forum will support a
candidate from the North. But we have yet to zero in on anybody,
whether Christian or Muslim. However, with what Tambuwal has done as the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, he looks quite attractive. If
Tambuwal emerges as the candidate of any party he associates with,
whether PDP or APC, we will be happy to discuss with him. And I’m sure
he will enjoy the support of some of us.”
Another influential group in the North,
the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and
Businessmen, noted that supporting Tambuwal was not based only on the
preferences of the people of the region.
The coordinator of the group, Dr. Junaid
Mohammed, told one of our correspondents that Tambuwal had the
potential to turn the fortunes of the country around.
He said, “It’s not a question of a
northerner throwing a challenge to Jonathan, it’s a question of what is
good for Nigeria. Looking at the prospects, Tambuwal is good for
Nigeria. What he did during the election that made him the Speaker was a
very positive development for democracy in the nation and also a
sobering warning to all the parties to be more internally democratic.
“Goodluck Jonathan and the gangs around
him pose a very serious threat to us in this country by their sheer
incompetence and irresponsibility. Competence and integrity are clearly
lacking in the government and the Presidency, which Jonathan leads. I’m
sure Nigerians will be more than happy to have an opportunity to support
Tambuwal.”
Mohammed further described Tambuwal as a credible alternative to Jonathan.
“He is a kind of leader who will give
alternative tendencies a chance to overthrow the PDP, Jonathan and all
that they stand for. I believe Tambuwal will be a better leader and a
better person for the presidency.
“I’m saying this because I know Tambuwal
and I also know Jonathan. So, I can say, with some certainty, who is a
better leader; Tambuwal or Goodluck. We have seen how Goodluck has
performed or underperformed in the past few years as the President, and
we have seen how Tambuwal has performed as the Speaker, clearly Tambuwal
is a better leader than Jonathan.”
Similarly, the National President, Arewa
Youths Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettimah, said Tambuwal could win
the hearts of youths in the North but only if he was not sponsored by
“northern politicians who contributed to the woes of the region.”
Shettimah said, “We saw Jonathan as a
young man and we felt he came from a poor background like some of us. We
felt that he was going to come up with our aspirations. At the end of
the day, what happened? We want a young leader but not one that is
being used by older politicians.”
The Arewa Consultative Forum, however,
stated that it was too early to crown North’s consensus candidate, since
all the northern aspirants had yet to declare their intention to run.
The spokesman for the forum, Anthony
Sani, said, “I think it is too early to start talking politics to that
level at this time, precisely because such talks will not only heat up
the polity but distract us from governance. It is premature to talk of
which candidate is qualified to be President and deserving of support,
since we do not know all the aspirants yet. But when the time comes,
nobody will tell us what to do.”
However, the Speaker’s office denied knowledge of any plans by the APC to pick Tambuwal as its presidential candidate.
His Special Adviser on Media and Public
Affairs, Mr. Imam Imam, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that
talks about 2015 presidency were “distracting Tambuwal who has a
four-year mandate, as a member of the House of Representatives, to
serve.”
Imam added, “We have spoken on this
issue (2015 presidency) several times and our position has not changed.
The Speaker is preoccupied with serving his four-year mandate. He is
about to enter the mid-term of the four-year mandate. All his efforts
and attention are devoted to serving his term as a member of the House
of Representatives. That is all we can say.”
No comments:
Post a Comment