PDP Presidential Aspirants Insist On Primary As Nomination Ends

PDP Presidential Aspirants Insist On Primary As Nomination Ends 

By Loveth momoh - Abuja On Apr 21, 2022

Oknews!

 

THE 17 aspirants who picked the expression of interest and nomination forms to vie for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appear set to go through the whole hog to the primary election as none indicated willingness to withdraw from the race at the close of nominations on Wednesday. 

This is despite the effort of the group of four made up of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and former bank managing director, Muhammed HayatuDeen, to broker a consensus. 

The group had met with most of the other aspirants but was unable to extract a concrete commitment from any major player. At the close of nomination, the aspirants now ready to go into primary include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Saraki, Governors Tambuwal, Mohammed, Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); former president of the Senate and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, and the 2019 PDP vice presidential candidate and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi. 

Others are former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose; a United States-based medical doctor, Nwachukwu Anakwenze; media mogul, Dele Momodu; investment banker and economist, HayatuDeen; a pharmacist, Sam Ohuabunwa; former Speaker of Abia House of Assembly, Cosmos Ndukwe; Charles Ugwu, Rt Hon Chikwendu Kalu and the only female aspirant in the race, Tareila Diana. 

Most of the presidential aspirants have now met the National Working Committee (NWC) to appeal for support for their aspirations, foreclosing the possibility of withdrawing for a possible consensus candidate to emerge. 

However, they have mostly affirmed that even though they are not against the consensus idea, they can only accept it if it is based on equity, justice and fairness. Maintaining a position along this line, Governor Wike warned the NWC that only an open and transparent primary election is acceptable to him. 

But he also suggested that he is open to consensus that is based on the principles enunciated in the party’s constitution. 

The Rivers governor said, “I don’t believe in these people going around on consensus. I told them that their consensus move is shine shine bobo, the more you look, the less you see. I say I’m not going to buy it. It will not work and I’m not a party to it. 

“I believe in consensus, but based on equity, justice and fairness, not consensus by those who have conspired. They think they can bring me in, but nobody can bring me into it.” 

Wike is already planning ahead for the primary and appealing to the NWC not to constitute its relevant committees with loyalists of any of the aspirants. 

The governor told the NWC, “I want to please advise, not to make any mistake of what people will see that the NWC is trying to favour an aspirant over others. This will destroy the party. 

“As an opposition party, we cannot afford that people will say this election is not credible, this election is not transparent. 

“I therefore appeal again that you must not make the mistake of putting people who are obviously supporting me or any of the aspirants in the convention. If you do that, then some of us will challenge you. So, do something that all aspirants will be happy with. 

“But if you do anything short of credible and transparent convention, it will be a shame. After what we have done in 2018, after we have done the convention that brought you in, then you should do a better convention as members of NWC.” 

Tambuwal has also continued to kick against any idea of shutting out some aspirants, speaking vehemently against zoning. 

The Sokoto State governor has expressed his belief that a southern presidential candidate cannot win the election for the PDP, given the amount of votes that may be mustered in the region. 

His idea, therefore, is that the PDP should first win the poll with a northern candidate and share power later.

“For PDP, I have a question: Are we looking for zoning or winning?” he asked, buttressing his position with the outcomes of previous elections in Anambra and Plateau states.

He said, “We had an election in Anambra State. The governor of Anambra State won the election with 112,000 votes. The person next to him, the PDP candidate, secured about 53,000 votes. The third the APC candidate had 24,000 votes. The fourth YYP candidate had about 20,000 votes. Put together in that state election, governorship, we had about 220,000 votes in between four political parties. 

“Jos federal constituency in Plateau State where PDP won, the PDP candidate had about 40,000, PRP had 37,000 then APC 26,000. If you add this, it is close to 100,000. Federal constituency elections. 

“So, democracy is an issue. That is why after the election, I appealed to the PDP to look at these elections, and be studying elections and by-elections as we progress towards 2023. 

“APC took their ticket to Katsina in 2015 where the last president of PDP, Yar’Adua, died in office in 2010. Five years later, APC out of strategic thinking with Bola Tinubu and the rest of them, I was part of it, we said we are looking for how to move, we must get power before we share it. 

“It deliberately took APC ticket to Katsina to give President Muhammadu Buhari. Yes. Atiku contested, Rabiu Musa contested. And Sam Nda Isaiah and Rochas Okorocha, contested. But we knew where we were going because we were determined to win. 

“Let me tell you, had APC given that ticket to someone from the South, in particular South-South, we couldn’t have won. Go and check the election results of 2007, Buhari had 11 million votes before in 2003. But in 2007, he got 7 million votes against Yar’Adua because they are from the same Katsina. 

“Now, this is for PDP. In the South, as of today, PDP is in eight Government Houses. APC is also in eight Government Houses, leaving one; Anambra. In the North, APC is in 14 Government Houses, PDP is in five Government Houses. And they have the president.

“I’m giving you this analysis so that together, as leaders of our party who are working towards winning election, not zoning, not winning tickets. Yes, we can share ticket and everybody can take his piece and go to his zone. But you must plan to win an election. That’s the reality of it. It’s not anybody’s making. I didn’t make myself to come from Sokoto, a Fulani man. No, it’s God. 

“God could have decided for me to be born somewhere else not in Nigeria. So, we must accept these realities as a party and work with these realities to win election. 

“After, we come down and say okay, let’s share power. Win election first. Don’t win zoning o! Win the election and then, we’ll come and share power.” 

Former Vice President Atiku is also gearing up for the primary as he is not contemplating a situation where he will step down for any person. The PDP national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has assured that his leadership will provide a level playing ground for the impending primary election. 

“Our job as National Working Committee is to prepare a level playground for you to come and play your game. I want to assure that we are committed to most transparent and fair primaries in the history of the PDP,” he has assured the aspirants.