About 14 days to the presidential poll, the North’s anger against President Goodluck Jonathan is growing over his non-committal on where the presidency will shift to in 2015. But some influential Northern leaders are still determined to stop the President from winning the poll.
The new coalition of Northern stakeholders and professionals will meet again today to discuss how power can return to the region in two weeks’ time.
It was also learnt that the anger of the North accounted for ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s last minutes efforts to save the President.
Investigation by our source revealed that some Northern leaders, governors and Emirs were shocked that Jonathan was “dilly-dallying” on crucial issues like zoning, one-term in office, 2015 presidency and making categorical commitments.
Jonathan’s talks with the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) had last Friday collapsed because he refused to accede to two demands by the forum.
The demands are a written undertaking that he would spend a term in office and ensure that power shifts to the North in 2015. They also asked him to make a broadcast to the nation on these two commitments.
It was gathered that since Friday, some Northern leaders, who initially stood aloof, had decided to join forces with NPLF leaders like Mallam Adamu Ciroma, ex-President Ibrahim Babangida, ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and ex-National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau.
A highly-placed source said: “Our leaders and people are really, really angry that the President could take the North for granted by not conceding anything.
“He who comes to equity must do so with clean hands. This dilly-dallying is a return to the 2002 meeting which Jonathan disowned. We are building a consensus towards mass mobilization of the North against Jonathan to prove a point. We want to do a village to village and ward to ward mobilization. A week is significant in politics.”
Also, a Northern governor said: “The President’s refusal to make concession is making things difficult now for us. It is certainly a setback. What people are asking is: ‘You are all pleading for Jonathan, what is on the table for the North? Have you extracted any commitment from Jonathan?’ It is really a challenge now to win the confidence of our people for the President.”
Those likely to attend today’s meeting are representatives of some former Presidents from the North, some former military and civilian governors, retired judges, top bureaucrats from the region, and other professionals.
A top source, who is central to the session, said: “We are meeting again on Sunday in Abuja because the President’s attitude has shown his disdain and contempt for the North. We are suspecting that he might have entered into a deal to allow power to shift to the South-East in 2015. By implication, the North will be out of power for about 14 years by 2015. With Jonathan’s plan, the North will stay away from the presidency for 18 years by 2019.
“We will rather prefer to use our voting strength to send a message to Jonathan that politics is about negotiation and bargaining and not repudiation of agreement.
“What is left is to prevail on the three presidential candidates from the North to form an electoral alliance in favour of one of them to ease out the PDP and Jonathan.”
But worried by threats from the North, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has been making shuttles to some Northern leaders to pacify them in the last one week.
It was gathered that Obasanjo’s address at the grand finale of the PDP’s campaign last yesterday was a partial move to appease the North.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said zoning was alive and kicking in the party.
He urged the party members to see the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s candidate in next month’s election as an accident of history.
He therefore urged aggrieved members of the party to understand it for what it was and work for the success of the president in the presidential election as his presidency would actualize the Nigerian dream.
Already, he said he met with former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and other apostles of zoning to allay the fear of the North over the issue.
Security at the grand finale of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential rally was tight yesterday. The arena was filled to capacity even before the arrival of the President with various delegates and dance groups turning the rally into a carnival.
President Goodluck Jonathan arrived at the Eagles Square at exactly 12.28pm and immediately went around the venue waving to the crowd.
In his opening remark, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Bala Mohammed, described Jonathan as a “good product to market to Nigerians.”
Obasanjo told the gathering that Jonathan’s candidacy should not be seen as a violation of the zoning and federal character principle of the party. He also said Jonathan should be praised for his promise to rule for only one term.
Obasanjo stressed the need for politicians to shun religious and ethnic sentiments adding that what propelled him to work for the success of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was his conviction that the unity of Nigeria was paramount.
Obasanjo revealed that when the issue of zoning was raised at the last PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting by the three leading lights of the principle, General Ibrahim Babangida, former vice president Atiku Abubakar and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Aliyu Mohamed Gusau, he was mandated to take it up with them.
He said in resolving the issue he told them that the issues of federal character, zoning and rotation remain alive in PDP.
“Drawing from our national Constitution which upholds Federal Character, we are the only political party that enshrines Federal Character in our Constitution through zoning and rotation. And we should be proud of that. For us and for the foreseeable future that remains sacrosanct. I was an apostle of Federal Character under Murtala/Obasanjo administration and I cannot now preach anything different. The accident of history of the recent past must be understood for what it is, an unexpected situation and PDP as a party has addressed that issue.
The Nation
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