By LUKA BINNIYAT
ABUJA—The All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, yesterday inaugurated the Presidential and Gubernatorial Screening Committee for the 2011 general elections and is headed by Senator Ahmned Yerima, former governor of Zamfara State.

Meanwhile, the party has announced that it was all set for its national convention, which Vanguard findings showed that 3,012 delegates of the ANPP from all the six geo-political zones would converge on Abuja next Friday and Saturday to elect their presidential flag bearer.
Inaugurating the committee, Chairman of the ANPP, Chief Ogbonoya Onu, said the party searched for some members with integrity for the job.

He said the essence of  forming the committee was to ensure that anybody going for any of the offices did not have a dissembling quality that would make him not to win against other contesting parties.

But he cautioned that the screening committee be fair and just in the screening so that none of the contestant feels unfairly treated in a manner that would lead to litigations.

ANPP ‘ll produce next president, most governors

“From the way the other political parties are going on”, he said, “the ANPP will produce the next president and most of the governors in the 2011 elections”, he said.

Yerima, while responding, said the committee would abide strictly by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that of the party.

“Our work is going to be restricted under these provisions”, he said.

He then announced that all aspirant can go for screening, either in Abuja, or the zonal offices of the ANPP.
Other members of the committee are: Alh, Gambo Magaji, (former Chairman, Board of Trustee of the ANPP); K. Ogunade; Alh. Rabiu Yunusa Zuba; Chief Francis Egwu, Prince Ebuta Ayuk and Yemi Sanusi.

Others are: Clement Mengbo; Sanusi N. Adullahi; Alh. Ahmed Abdullahi;  Mr. Kaumi Damboa and Lawal Shetima, the National Secretary of the ANPP, who would serve as the Secretary of the Committee.

Accreditation for the National Convention is expected to start with officials today, but the party was yet to give out details as at the time of going to press.

So far, not less than 3,012 delegates from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, are expected to attend the 2011 National Convention of the ANPP to elect their presidential candidates.

According to information received by Vanguard, the North West Zone has the highest number of delegates with 1,166, with Kano State alone producing 442 of them. The North East follows suit, with a total delegates of 780, in which Borno State and Yobe are having nearly equal number of  215 and 217 delegates respectively.

The constitution of the other zones was not yet clear yesterday, but Vanguard investigation showed that the North West and the North East hold the key to producing the next flag beerier of the ANPP.

But, the zones has three contestant. They are Alh. Bashir Tofa, from Kano State, Gov. Ibrahim Shakarua of Kano State and former Minister of Health, Alh. Dauda Brimah from Adamawa State who stepped down in 2003 and 2007 for Gen, Mohammadu Buhari.

Only Chief Harry Akande, one the candidates comes from the Southern part of the country.If none of the three candidate from the North refuses to step down, the chances of Chief Akande picking the ticket would improved, given the kind of reach-out he has extended to delegates from the South-South, South East and South West of the country.