•Associates say he only deffered battle
Double shocker is on the cards for President Goodluck Jonathan over the sole candidacy ticket handed him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that is if he accepts the offer.
Two heavyweight Northerners are not satisfied with the agreement to rubber stamp his bid, even though some, like Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, say “no performing president from now on will be subjected to an elective nomination of primary process, because that is wrong and undemocratic.”
Sule Lamido, Jigawa State Governor, gave Aso Rock some respite when he agreed that Jonathan to be the sole presidential candidate of the party ahead of the primaries on December 6.
But those close to Lamido confided in TheNiche that the man has something else up his sleeves.
Besides, Abdul Tafawa Balewa, son of Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, has announced his intention to challenge Jonathan for the post.
Niger State Governor, Muazu Aliyu, announced at a meeting of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) on September 18 that all the party’s governors had “unanimously without any reservation decided to endorse the sole candidature of [Jonathan] in the 2015 election.”
Aliyu then called on Lamido to stand up and recognise the decision of the governors. He stood up and nodded.
But several sources close to Lamido confirmed that he only deferred to another day the battle between him and Jonathan for the ticket.
Matter of honour
One of the sources, a chieftain of the PDP in Adamawa and a confidante of Lamido, said his decision to run for the Villa in 2015 is a matter of honour.
“He would be betraying his people if he failed to contest against Jonathan. His people have asked him to run, the state House of Assembly even passed a resolution saying he should run for president, so why should he back down?
“I can tell you that he is still in the race, but just bidding his time to make a formal declaration,” the source said.
Another source disclosed that Lamido is one of the Northern politicians who ensured Jonathan’s victory in 2011, even though it was not the turn of the South to produce the president.
He said Lamido will not turn around to betray an agreement they had with Jonathan to step down in 2015.
“Besides, Jonathan is very, very unpopular in the North. Lamido knows that. He is only playing along since that is what they want to hear for now. But the fact is, no amount of endorsement can make Jonathan President,” the source maintained.
Keeping it close to his chest
Sources in Jigawa said Lamido is keeping his ambition close to his chest, in an elaborate plot to pull the rug off Jonathan’s feet.
TheNiche reported on July 20 that he has unofficially launched his bid for Aso Rock with branded campaign vehicles spotted in Jigawa State proclaiming his readiness to run.
There are also posters in Kaduna State bearing his name and picture proclaiming his ambition.
By law, the campaign for the election in February 2015 should begin three months prior, meaning November this year.
But since other politicians have flouted the rule without the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sanctioning them, Lamido loyalists decided to also go to town with his ambition.
Jonathan too, though publicly mum on his intentions, has tactically begun his own campaign through proxies, with campaign offices equipped out of public view.
The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), funded by oil magnate, Ifeanyi Ubah, has toured some states to canvass support for Jonathan.
Obasanjo factor
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly tipped Lamido for president on two occasions.
Making a veiled reference to Jonathan on May 29 last year, Obasanjo said: “You know you can help somebody to get a job but you cannot help him to do it.”
Doing a pitch for his protege, he added: “If somebody cannot do the job, we have Sule Lamido who is competent to do the job.
“Some people are saying one person can’t make changes; this is rubbish. If you have a competent person who knows where he is going, he can make changes along with his team that would impact the lives of people as we have seen it in Jigawa State.”
Obasanjo also spoke up for Lamido on May 12 this year, saying, “Going by Lamido’s background, performance and credibility, his competence and exposure, he can stand shoulder to shoulder with anybody in the country.
“If it is the wish of the people, it is okay. He did not tell me he is vying for the post, but being the wish of the people, let’s wait and see.”
Obasanjo had also in a letter in December 2013 urged Jonathan not to run in 2015 as he had agreed before the 2011 election.
He is yet to comment on the endorsement of Jonathan by the PDP leadership and governors.
North’s elaborate plot to stop Jonathan
Lamido, it is believed, poses a threat to Jonathan’s bid for the PDP ticket given his political connections, especially in the North.
He was a protegee of Aminu Kano, leader of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and a close associate of Abubakar Rimi, successor to Kano’s political family. Lamido is believed to be the patron of that dynasty.
He is from the North where sentiment is rife about the region producing the next president.
So, the calculation is that he may be in league with other Northern PDP governors to surprise Jonathan at the PDP primaries.
Enter Balewa
Balewa condemned the plot by the PDP to demoralise other presidential aspirants, and thundered that he is “not intimidated by the decision of PDP governors and the party to support the second term aspiration of [Jonathan].
“What type of democracy do we have? Is the PDP a communist party? Where is the place of internal democracy?”
“What Nigerians need and where they want the country to be in future are paramount issues. We need to put our ideas before the people and allow them to decide.
He promised to industrialise the country, ensure zero unemployment, better education, maximum security, and power supply.
“Nigeria needs to move from Third World to First world,” Balewa told journalists in Lagos on September 20.
APC presidential nomination form costs N27m
In its own quest for the presidency, the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced on Friday, September 26 that a candidate wanting to contest on its platform has to pay N27 million for the nomination form which goes on sale from October 6 to October 19.
A serving governor is to pay N10.5 million, new candidate (N5.5 million); serving senator (N5.3 million), new (N3.3 million); serving member of the House of Representatives (N3.2 million), new (N2.2 million); serving state lawmaker (N550,000), new (N800,000).