By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The drive to produce a consensus presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 2023 election has collapsed .
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday night by the Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO), the campaign platform of a PDP Presidential Aspirant, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
The four aspirants in the forefront of the campaign for consensus are former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki; Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and the former Managing Director of FSB International Bank, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen.
TCO, in the statement signed by its Director of Organisation and Mobilisation, Nicholas Msheliza, said that the quest for a consensus candidate by the team had failed.
Msheliza also denied reports making the round that Saraki and Gov. Mohammed had emerged the group’s consensus candidates.
“Our attention has been drawn to a news item that former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Gov. Bala Muhammad of Bauchi State have emerged as consensus candidates from amongst the four of us announced at a meeting in Minna, Niger.
`This, to be candid and forthright, is not correct,” he said.
Msheliza said that the correct situation was that the team met on Wednesday April, 20 at Bauchi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja and had a review meeting and unanimously agreed that the consensus arrangement was not working.
He said that the team further agreed that Saraki should come up with a draft statement on how to communicate this decision to Nigerians.
“This was the last time that members of the team sat and mutually agreed on anything. The proposed meeting to review and vet the statement scheduled for 10 p.m. of the same day was aborted unilaterally by Sen. Saraki via a WhatsApp message.
“However, on Thursday, 21st April, 2022, the same Sen. Saraki circulated yet another WhatsApp message suggesting that members of the team should (go) head to Minna for a meeting on Friday.
“Gov. Tambuwal reached other members of the team and informed them that he stands by the decision of the team that the initiative is not working.
“This is the reason Gov. Tambuwal was absent at today’s (Friday) meeting in Minna.
“As a result, therefore, the outcome of the Minna meeting has no consequence or any implication on the aspiration of Gov. Tambuwal who had earlier on informed his colleagues of maintaining their agreed position that the initiative has collapsed,” he said.
Msheliza reminded Nigerians that what was canvassed for was a consensus candidate and not consensus candidates.
He said that for the avoidance of doubts, Tambuwal had submitted his presidential nomination forms.
“Now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries.
“This is in consonance with his acclaimed outlook as a pan-Nigerian candidate, with pedigree of national service as the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, life member of the Body of Benchers and now in his second and final term as the Governor of Sokoto state,” the TCO statement said.
A report however emerged Friday indicating that Saraki and Bala Mohammed have been selected as northern consensus candidates by a group coordinated by Prof. Ango Abdullahi at the behest of former President Ibrahim Babangida.(With report by NAN)
