EDITOR’S PICK:
EKO HOT BLOG reports that Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State and a presidential contender for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, has withdrawn from the search for a consensus presidential candidate from the North, claiming that the arrangement had failed.
Tambuwa also criticized the findings of the Prof. Ango Abdullahi-led consensus committee, which listed two other presidential contenders – Dr Bukola Saraki and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed – as probable PDP consensus candidates for the North in the 2023 elections.
In a statement issued on Friday night by Nicholas Msheliza, Director of Organisation and Mobilisation of the Tambuwal Campaign Organisation (TCO), all four presidential aspirants involved in the search for a consensus candidate had previously admitted the process’ failure, and thus Saraki and Mohammed could not have been proclaimed as a possible North consensus candidate.
“The attention of the Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO) has been directed to a news item claiming that former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammad have emerged as consensus candidates from among the four of us announced at a meeting in Minna, Niger state.”
“To be honest and upfront, this is incorrect.
The correct position is that the team convened for a review meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at the Bauchi Governor’s lodge in Abuja, and unanimously agreed that the consensus structure was not working.
“The panel also agreed that Sen. Saraki should compose a statement on how to inform the Nigerian public about this decision.” This was the last time the team members sat down and agreed on anything. Sen. Saraki unilaterally cancelled a meeting to review and vet the statement scheduled for 10 p.m. the same day via a WhatsApp message.
“However, on Thursday, 21st of 2022, the same Sen Saraki circulated yet another WhatsApp message suggesting that members of the team go to Minna for a meeting on Friday, Gov. Tambuwal reached out to other members of the team and informed them that he supports the team’s decision that the initiative is not working.” Gov. Tambuwal was unable to attend today’s (Friday) meeting in Minna because of this.
“As a result, the Minna meeting’s outcome has no bearing or impact for Gov. Tambuwal’s ambitions, as he had previously notified his colleagues that the plan had collapsed.
“It is important to remind members of the public that what was canvassed for was a consensus candidate, not consensus candidates.”
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“For the avoidance of doubt, Gov. Tambuwal has submitted his Presidential candidacy forms, and now that the search for a consensus candidate among the four has clearly failed, he will proceed to be screened and will contest the PDP presidential primaries.”
“This is in line with his widely praised outlook as a pan-Nigerian candidate, with a pedigree of national service as Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, life member of the Body of Benchers, and now in his second and final term as Governor of Sokoto state,” Msheliza said.
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