Despite throwing the contest for its 2023 presidential ticket open, there are indications that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is working towards the emergence of a standard-bearer from the North East geopolitical zone.

The main opposition party has cleared 15 aspirants for its special national convention scheduled for Friday and three out of the five aspirants from the North that is favoured to pick the party’s presidential ticket are from the North-East.

They are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed and ex-banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen. The other two aspirants of northern extraction are former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki (North Central) and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal (North-West).

However, four days to the special national convention at which PDP delegates will elect the party’s presidential standard-bearer, some leaders of the party from the North are calling for a revisit of the consensus arrangement to ensure that their region does not lose out.

Findings revealed that the party leaders have equally narrowed down their search for a presidential candidate to Atiku and Mohammed, who both hail from the North-East.

According to information, the choice of the former vice president and the Bauchi State governor was informed by the fact that their zone has not produced a president in the present dispensation.

It was also learnt that the move is to ensure that only an aspirant who has the capacity to win the election emerges as candidate.

Attempts by the northern aspirants to forge a consensus among themselves collapsed about a month ago. The failure was as a result of the General Ibrahim Babangida-led Northern Elders’ shortlisting of two of the aspirants – Saraki and Mohammed as joint consensus candidates of the region.

Although Atiku opted out of the consensus arrangement when it was first muted, it was however gathered that he is being considered because of his political strength and financial muscle. But the odd seems to be in favour of Governor Mohammed, who according to PDP sources, swayed most party delegates during his consultation visits across the 36 states of the federation.

A party chieftain, who spoke on the chances of the Bauchi State governor said, “Although Atiku is two-term vice president, Bala Mohammed equally parades a rich profile. He is a journalist, federal civil servant who rose from level eight to level 17 and served in strategic ministries as well as the presidency, former senator, ex-minister of the Federal capital Territory and a former member of the Federal Executive Council and presently governor.

“His loyalty to the party as well as performance in office whether as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and as governor of Bauchi since 2019 he assumed office, among others, also speak for him. At various stops during the consultation, delegates expressed excitement over his passion, sincerity and sense of patriotism,” he added.

Another party source, who spoke on chances of the Bauchi State governor, said that nominating Atiku, Saraki or Tambuwal as PDP’s presidential candidate will amount to rewarding those who abandoned the party in 2013 and teamed up with the APC to defeat the party in the 2015 presidential election.

“We have not forgotten how Atiku, Saraki and Tambuwal abandoned PDP ahead of the 2015 elections. While they enjoyed with the APC and threw the country into its present miserable state, it took the physical and moral presence, financial support and organizational acumen of loyal party leaders such as Bala Mohammed and Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, to keep the party going.

“If not for the steadfastness of the likes of Bala Mohammed and Nyesom Wike, the party would have gone under. It is against this backdrop that our delegates will consider those who stood behind them through thick and thin in electing a presidential candidate for the forthcoming election, and I will assure you that Bala Mohammed stands shoulder high among the 15 aspirants,” he said. (New Telegraph)

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