30th March, 2012
The way the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, executive is constituted has provided an insight into the nature of power struggle for the 2015 presidency.
As it stands, four names have been speculated to be interested in the next presidency.
They include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, and President Goodluck Jonathan (though he had once said he would not seek re-election).
However, with Alhaji Bamaga Tukur as National Chairman, the balance of power weighs against Atiku because the former Vice President was believed to have opposed Tukur’s aspiration for the position.
His emergence may negatively affect the 2015 presidential ambition of the former Vice-President because they are both from south senatorial district of Adamawa State.
Political Platform reliably gathered that one of the antics of an anti-Atiku group within the PDP was to ensure that Tukur emerged as chairman, conscious of the fact that both men are from the same state.
Apparently, Tukur was the President’s candidate in the PDP chairmanship race and ensured that he emerged as chairman in the just concluded convention.
While the campaign was on, Tukur had screamed that Atiku’s ambition for the 2015 presidential election was responsible for the gang-up against him by some notable politicians in the North-East.
He described Atiku as: ‘a desperate politician with a threatened ambition’, while reacting to his rejection by the North-East chapter of the party at the zonal congress, where he polled just two delegate votes as against 14, which the out-gone National Secretary of the party, Dr. Musa Babayo, had secured.
However, the former vice-president says Tukur’s emergence will not be an obstacle to his ambition.
He said: “The PDP constitution is very clear about the zoning of elective offices in the party. Whenever a presidential candidate emerges, the party has a way of moving the office of the chairman to another region or zone that is different from that of the presidential candidate.”
—Jamiu Yisa