Seven Northern governors jostle to succeed President Jonathan in 2015

Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, there’s an in-house battle over who will emerge as a consensus candidate from the Northern part of the country as seven serving Governors are all struggling for the office of the Commander in Chief.
It was gathered that top politicians from the region had reportedly held several meetings in order to settle for a consensus candidate but no positive result was achieved at the end.
Investigation revealed that none of the seven Governors battling for the highly-exalted position is ready to step down for the other.
Those who have indicated interest in succeeding Goodluck Jonathan include: Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.
Amazingly, all the contending Governors are in their second term in office and are also members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to which President Goodluck Jonathan belongs.
DailyPost learnt that erstwhile Governors Ahmed Makarfi and Ibrahim Shekarau of Kaduna and Kano states have also indicated interest for the office of the president.
It was gathered that top northern politicians who had been planning to return power to the zone come 2015 had been worried over the battle from the within.
Close insiders observed that at some of the meetings, all the contenders remained adamant — a situation that has made it very difficult for the leaders to pick a consensus candidate.
According to the Convener of the Coalition of Northern Leaders, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, the plan to present a single candidate for 2015 had been frustrated by the Governors.
He said: “As far as I know, we have not got to the point of zeroing in on a candidate, a political party or even a strategy. From the look of things, it is not likely to happen soon.
“This is because the last time we tried to get a consensus candidate for the North, it was the Northern governors who scuttled the plan. About seven northern governors, who have ambition to become President, have been busy scuttling one another’s ambition. So, the North has not picked a candidate, and in my opinion, it will not happen soon.”
He added that the issue of a consensus candidate was one of the vital issues discussed recently at the two-day conference of Northern leaders, which took place last Wednesday and Thursday.
The conference, with the theme, ‘The North and strategies for sustainable development,’ was organised by the Ahmadu Bello University’s Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research.
Mohammed said, “Unless we come together in the North, we will continue to have problems. I met with the Senate caucus in the North and I asked them to reconsider the introduction of an electoral college in electing the president.”
The spokesman of the Northern Elder’s Forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, confirmed that there’s an ongoing inhouse battle over who will emerge as the sole candidate.
He said, “Lamido and Aliyu are eminently qualified to be President. But what they need to do now is to unite and rationalise to choose one person as the only northern candidate for the election. If not, if the South presents one candidate, the person would likely win.”
The image maker added that the zone will painstakingly elect a consensus candidate, based on his ability to bring the security challenges in the country under control.
Unongo said, “When it comes to people from the North, who can stand for election for President, some persons like Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Abubakar Atiku are the names we can mention. But now, I don’t know how acceptable they will be to Nigerians. I don’t think Nigerians still want Army Generals.
“Another potential candidate is the Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who is the northerner in the highest office in the country. It would be a surprise to me if he does not stand for election in 2015. If he stands for election in 2015, some of us will support him.”
It would be recalled that on May 17, the 19 northern Governors met in Kaduna and planned to settle for a sole candidate from the region in 2015.
The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Aliyu, who spoke on behalf of the group, vowed not to allow the incident that brought Jonathan into power repeat its in 2015.
“We must be united more than ever to go into the 2015 elections as one entity with the aim of producing the president,” he said.
DailyPost