By Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor

After several weeks of consultations, the committee set up by the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, to choose a consensus candidate from amongst former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, serial National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (rtd) and Kwara State Governor, Bukola Abubakar Saraki, is expected to finally announce its choice this week – barring any last minute disequilibrium.  Therefore, this report takes you through the bumpy road to picking that candidate and why the assignment was not a tea party.

The meeting had to hold and it did.  In attendance that day were Third Republic Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf; Chief Ben Obi, Director-General, Aliyu Gusau Campaign Organisation; Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, DG, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Campaign Organisation; Chris Mamah, DG, Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation and Chief Raymond Dokpesi, DG, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Campaign Organisation. There were a few other influential politicians from the North in attendance.

It was a Friday.  September 17, 2010, that is.  That date was strategic because it was just a day before the public declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan for the presidency.

Somewhere in the Maitama District Area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the meeting held – specifically, in the residence of one of the politicians mentioned above.  The meeting lasted hours.  It was to signal the commencement of the search for a consensus candidate.

At the end of the meeting, the four DGs for the four politicians from the North seeking the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, issued a joint statement disclosing that among them a candidate would emerge.

Entitled “Towards a single candidate from the North”, the statement reads:

“An eight-man committee drawn from the campaign organisations of General Ibrahim Babangida, Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, General Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki has been set up, to, among other things, deliberate and advise on the need to recommend a Single Presidential Candidate among them and explore other areas of co-operation.

“After its sitting today (Friday, September 17, 2010), the committee resolved as follows:

“That it would present a Single Candidate among the four Presidential Aspirants.

“The campaign organisations have also resolved to co-operate and work together towards achieving this objective.

“It commends the Four Aspirants for the sacrifice they have agreed to make towards achieving this goal.

“Finally, the Four Aspirants enjoined their supporters nationwide to remain calm and focused, assuring them of their resolve to work together to move this country forward”.

Not done, another declarative statement was issued that same day, this time, according to them, “for and on behalf of concerned members of the PDP”.

Signed, in this instance, by Ciroma, Madakin Fika, MFR; Ayu, Alhaji Lawal Kaita; Alhaji Bello Kirfi, Wazirin Bauchi, CON; Ambassador Yahaya Kwande; and Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, they wrote to Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, National Chairman of the PDP, wishfully requesting that he stops President Jonathan from going ahead with his declaration.

They said, “Therefore, by reason, convention or constitution of our Party, the choice of the Presidential candidate of the party for the 2011 election remains the exclusive preserve of the North, and the Party is under obligation to nominate a Northerner as its Presidential candidate.

“Accordingly”, they continued in their statement laden with subtle threats, “we herewith demand that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through its appropriate organ, issue a superseding resolution within two (2) weeks from date, clarifying the noted ambiguity, and declaring its intention to nominate a Northerner from the pool of its Northern Presidential Aspirants as its Presidential candidate for the 2011 general elections. Furthermore, we demand that the Party issues a declaration, restraining President Goodluck Jonathan from participating and presenting himself as an aspirant in the 2010 PDP Presidential primary election.

Our demand is informed by a deep sense of commitment to the preservation of PDP and the universal call for justice, fairness, peace, unity and stability of our country. Above all, we are extremely worried that our Party’s failure to deliver justice in this matter, may ignite a series of events, the scope and magnitude of which we can neither proximate nor contain.

The peace, stability and unity of our country are superior to the personal ambition of one man. This stability and the corporate existence of our Party are all at stake and we urge you to grant our prayers.  In the event, however, that the Party dismisses our plea or fails to act, please, take notice that in addition to other legitimate measures, we will, in concert with other aggrieved members, take any and all actions warranted by Law to obtain justice in this matter. Kindly consider this letter as a grievance under Article 21.2(1)(111) and (iv) of our Party’s 2009 Constitution as amended.

“We thank you, Your Excellency, Sir, for this opportunity. May God bless you and our country, Nigeria”.

After firstly extracting a commitment from the four principal actors on the imperative of supporting whatever choice was made at the end of the day, the committee extended its tentacles and made wide consultations.

Eventually, a smaller committee of the NPLF was instituted with the sole purpose of engaging in other further consultations

That committee, aptly dubbed “The Consensus Committee”, commenced further consultations across the three geo-political zones in Northern Nigeria with a view to aggregating the views of a cross section of stakeholders on who best to pick from the quartet.

Specifically, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand, the consultations going on are being engaged by a nine-man sub-committee of the larger Consensus Committee.

According to a very dependable source involved in the Consensus Committee’s work, the members of the sub-committee set about their rounds of consultations on Monday, October 18, 2010.  That round of consultation was led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma.

The source told Sunday Vanguard that “contrary to what some people have caused newspapers (minus Vanguard) to publish about disruptions in the work of the committee, is that a sub committee of the larger committee commenced another round of consultations last week Monday, October 18, 2010.

“The focus of that fresh round of consultations was Emirs, leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Jamátuul Islamiyya Movement of Nigeria and other such Islamic bodies, state governors and youth associations in Northern Nigeria.

“The leaders wanted input from these different categories of leaders in the North.

“They wanted to know who among the four they would be very comfortable with as Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-Chief.

“Beyond that, the nine-man committee also wanted to know who they would prefer to vote in as President and Commander-in-Chief.  Mind you, it is about electoral value.

“If you are comfortable with somebody and he cannot defeat the incumbent then your choice is of no value”, Sunday Vanguard was told.

The Committee listed four criteria to guide it and respondents in assessing the four presidential aspirants.   These are their feelings about the acceptability of the aspirants across the six geo-political zones of the country, the democratic credentials of the aspirants, the readiness of the candidates for the task of providing competent leadership for the country, and the political structure of the aspirants to successfully compete in the presidential primaries against President Jonathan.

Between last Thursday and Friday, there were conflicting signals from the group.
Whereas it was speculated that it had completed its consultations and was set to announce its choice of consensus, Sunday Vanguard gathered from a reliable source that the committee was still fine-tuning some details.

Sunday Vanguard was informed that the Committee, barring any change of plans, would have met with the four aspirants over the weekend.

Asked whether the meeting would be held individually or with the four at the same time, a source close to the committee said the meeting would be held at the same time with the four aspirants.

Sunday Vanguard had published last Sunday that a prelude to the announcement of the consensus candidate would be a meeting of the committee with all the aspirants.

The need for the meeting, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand, would be to clarify any feeling or insinuation of greyness in the final choice of the committee.