*As Jonathan’s camp woos more govs

By Dayo Benson

LAGOS—TUESDAY’S release of time table for the 2011 general elections by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has widened the political space as National Security Adviser, NSA, Lt-Gen Aliyu Gusau, is set to formally declare his presidential ambition soon.

Aliyu Gusau

This development came just as President Goodluck Jonathan Camp is perfecting strategies to win more governors to its fold ahead of his declaration to contest January 22 presidential poll.
Impeccable sources close to Gen. Gusau, said, yesterday, that the NSA had made up his mind to throw his hart into the ring for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential ticket despite the fact that President Jonathan would also run.

A meeting of Jonathan National Campaign Committee, NCC, which was scheduled to hold, Wednesday, in Abuja, but postponed to yesterday’s night, was meant to restrategise on how to work on four governors who were still not on the President’s side.

One of the reliable sources close to Gen. Gusau, said he (NSA) was expected to resign his appointment any moment from now. He said: “I can tell you authoritatively that Gen. Gusau would contest the 2011 presidential election and what that means is that he would resign his appointment any moment from now. In fact, he will declare his intention by middle of this month.”

Gusau contested for the PDP’s ticket in December 2006, but he was beaten to the second position by the late Umaru Yar’Adua, who was largely backed by the party big guns, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Yar’ Adua went on to win the hotly discredited election in April 2007. On his part, Gusau went into retirement hoping to make another bid for the Presidency. He was busy knocking together his political team when he was called upon by President Jonathan, then acting President, to serve as the National Security Adviser, at a time the nation’s ship of state faced some turbulence and instability as President Yar’Adua’s illness turned the latter into a lame duck. The job, the fifth time he would be so appointed, temporarily demobilized his political footwork, but not his interest, according to his aides.
Gusau’s aides told Vanguard that one factor that will favour him in the pursuit of the Presidency is his network of powerful friends, outside Nigeria and all over the country, with a lot of them within the ruling PDP.

Last night’s meeting of the National Campaign Committee of President Jonathan was sequel to a meeting Tuesday between President Jonathan and state governors in which Jonathan was said to have informed them of his intention to contest next year’s election and he enlisted their support.

It was also learnt that some Northern governors had earlier held a meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo in Saudi Arabia last week on what a source described as fence mending. The meeting which took place while the Vice-President hurriedly went to perform lesser Haji was said to be inconclusive. Though the details were not known, it was learnt that the Northern Governors were said to have given terms and conditions for supporting President Jonathan.

It was further learnt that following Tuesday’s meeting the President had with governors, most of them had agreed to support him to actualise his ambition.

However, it was gathered that four Governors namely those of Sokoto, Niger, Kwara and Rivers states were still opposed to Jonathan presidency in 2011 even as efforts were being intensified to win them over.