Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Some northerners unite to protect their interests

Zoning is an internal affair for the PDP in Nigeria, but it affects everyone. With President Jonathan's announcement that he'll run for office, northern politicians feared they could lose what they felt was their right to the presidency. Then there was the problem of competition to be the northern PDP candidate. So, it's come to accommodation. Maybe. This is a report on the actions of some northern politicians.

Atiku - The Making of the Northern Consensus Candidate

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar finally emerged the consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) on Monday…

It is doubtful whether the group had thought it was going to be as difficult as it turned out to be…

From indications, even though the choice has been made, the outcome may be complicated by yet another possibility that the Northern Governors' Forum may present their own choice since they were not part of the NPLF's arrangement…

The genesis of the zoning controversy is fairly known but the end is not. According to analysts, the energies that have fed and propelled the hunt for a Northern consensus candidate, was in the main, produced by the anxiety of some Northern elite to restore a firm hold on power in Nigeria after excusing itself from it for eight years…

Consequently, the insistence on zoning became a national controversy as people like… Finance Minister, Adamu Ciroma, who had been in power and knew its advantages were quick to rouse other members of the Northern oligarchy…

When it became clear that the sitting President would have a go at the presidency and could emerge victorious by virtue of incumbency, Ciroma and co, were believed to have felt called upon to protect the position of the elitist North which they belong…

Now that the battle for the PDP presidential ticket has become a straight fight between the North's consensus candidate and the sitting president, it appears that a historic party primary is about to take place in Nigeria, with both contenders having so much behind them. Will the outcome unite or destroy 'Africa's largest party'? Nigerians would know in January, 2011, when the PDP organises its primaries.

If there's disagreement, can there be consensus?
No consensus for the north, says Sambo

The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, on Thursday, said that the north has no consensus candidate for the 2011 elections.

Mr Sambo, speaking to journalists… said that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has a constitution that is to be observed in the selection of presidential candidate. “Who said that there is a consensus candidate for the north?,” he said. “Who said so, because we are not aware of any northern consensus candidate. Our understanding differs but the north has no consensus candidate for this election for PDP.”

Explaining that the… campaign for a consensus candidate for the north is not recognized by the party, Mr Sambo said that the party’s constitution must be followed…

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Labels: Nigeria, parties, politics