Stakeholders from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have rejected immediate past Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Bauchi State Governor as PDP consensus aspirants for north in the 2023 election.
DAILY POST reports that the Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Bauchi State Governor Abdulkadir Bala Mohammed, former Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Mohammed Hayatuo-Deen, had met with party stakeholders and other presidential aspirants advocating consensus arrangement.
Consequently, the committee in a communiqué signed last Friday by former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ango Abdullahi shortlisted Bala and Saraki as the north’s PDP consensus President aspirants.
The Stakeholders from the 19 Northern States and the FCT after a meeting in Abuja on Monday noted that “the PDP remains the foremost national political platform wherein the democratic aspirations of its teeming members can be actualized devoid of any sectional consideration”.
Former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido who read the communique on behalf of the group added that the party is neither northern nor Southern, but Nigeria.
The communique in part read “the Aspirants have informed us that they are discussing among themselves. They are consulting other senior citizens to create a better understanding and unity among themselves.
“Their ultimate objective is to build a National Consensus that will produce a National Candidate for the Party.
“We urge them to keep up with this commendable effort.
“Our meeting today is to reinforce the press release issued on 23/4/22 by Gov. Sule Lamido. We maintain that all our aspirants are qualified to occupy the Nigerian Presidency under the PDP banner and we shall continue to support, promote and campaign and win the Presidency by the candidate produced by our national convention scheduled for May 28th – 29th 2022”.
They appealed to all aspirants to be more temperate in their utterances and work to promote harmony and better understanding within the PDP.
The group also assured all PDP members and Nigerians that they are aware of their pains, prayers, expectations and hope to be rescued.
In the meeting were former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Waziri, former governor of Niger State Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Adamawa Boni Haruna, former governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, former minister for National Planning and Works, Senator Sanusi Dagash and Senator Dino Melaye among others.