The APC presidential candidate is already known. So, all eyes are on the
PDP. Signs are beginning to emerge about the chances of the 12
aspirants locked in the race for the ticket.
The leading aspirants at the moment are,
Kwankwaso, Atiku, Saraki and Tambuwal. There could be some surprises from Makarfi and Dankwambo.
The aspirants are intensifying their campaigns across the country having received the breakdown of delegates per state.
“We are all doing our calculations on how and where the votes will come from,” one of the aspirants told The Nation.
The
aspirant explained that the intrigues on vote-seeking made him and his
colleagues allow Governor Nyesom Wike have his way at the National
Executive Committee meeting of PDP on Friday on Port Harcourt as the
venue of the National Convention.
“We allowed the sleeping dog to lie after Wike apologized for threatening to bring down the party,” he said.
“Some
of us did not confront Wike because he had introduced ethnic sentiments
into venue issue and rejecting Port Harcourt might prove suicidal to
our ambition.
“But for the first time, we put Wike on the spot…
The PDP is greater than him and the 2019 project of the party cannot be
toyed with.”
Five factors are likely to determine who carries the day.
These are:
*The influence of PDP governors
*Ex-Presidents
Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Goodluck Jonathan, ex-Chief of
Army Staff, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, ex-National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu
Gusau all of whom have the ears of those who matter in the party
*A huge war chest
*Micro-zoning at the National Convention if there is any stalemate
*External factors especially the interest of some foreign countries and forces
A
presidential aspirant said: “Whether these leaders are in partisan
politics or not, we have all been reaching out to them for assistance on
our aspirations. Some of us have made more than two or three shuttles
to these leaders.
“And we have embarked on consultative trips to
these leaders because a few of them came out openly to make a strong
case for a new government to replace the APC administration in 2019.
“Definitely, Obasanjo, Babangida, Gusau, Jonathan and a few business moguls might advise the party appropriately.”
Investigation also revealed that the PDP governors hold the ace in determining the party’s presidential flag bearer.
According to a top PDP source, the governors control a large number of delegates from their states.
“The emergence of the PDP candidate depends on the disposition of the governors and strategic party leaders,” the source added.
It was also gathered that foreign missions in the country have set up desks for the monitoring of the PDP primaries.
A
diplomat said: “Democracy is about choice, our country is more
interested in who gets the PDP presidential ticket than the APC which is
predictable.
“Nearly all the embassies have taken keen interest
in the development in PDP than APC. We are monitoring events and some of
us already have teams in Port Harcourt.”
