By Daniel Idonor
ABUJA—THE emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the Northern consensus Presidential Aspirant for the People Democratic Party, PDP, primaries has thrown President Goodluck Jonathan camp into jubilation.

The excitement in Aso Rock came as a peace meeting being convened by President Jonathan between himself and the Northern aspirants including Atiku Abubakar, former vice president; Ibrahim Babangida, former military president; Aliyu Gusau, former national security adviser (NSA) to President Jonathan; and Bukola Saraki, governor of Kwara State was called off.

The peace talks which was earlier billed for 3:00 pm yesterday at the Defence House, Maitama, Abuja had to be postponed at the instance of President due to the emergence of Atiku earlier in the day.

To this end, President Jonathan has shown interest to meet with Atiku at a later date, which is expected to discuss and agree to a peaceful electoral campaigns.

The camp declared that the emergence of Atiku is a good omen for the presidential ambition of President jonathan, as the development does not in anyway constitute a threat to whatsoever to the Jonathan’s aspiration.

A highly placed presidency source told Vanguard that “the President Jonathan,s camp was confident that whatever becomes the outcome of the selection process by  the few northerners who were insisting on zoning, the will of the majority of Nigerians would certainly prevail against the thinking of the very few that were opposed to our principal.”

According to the source, the Jonathan’s men across the country were in a festive mood, immediately the news of Atiku’s emergence came, they began to exchange banters and congratulatory messages through phones.

While reacting to the Atiku victory at the selection process, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ima Niboro, boasted that “the coast is now clearer for Jonathan’s presidency in the 2011 presidential election”.

“We are totally excited by Atiku’s selection because this decision has made the coast even clearer for President”, he said.

The source who would not wants his name in print told Vanguard that the Babangida camp is already accusing Ciroma, chairman of the selection committee of vendetta.

The Babangida camp accused the  Ciroma committee of choosing Atiku over Babangida because the former military president denied him the National Republican Convention (NRC) presidential ticket over two decades ago.

The source said, “the IBB camp is accusing Ciroma of Vendetta. They are already making moves to seek alternative platform for IBB to run”.

Speaking further on the matter, the source said the IBB camp are even more aggrieved because “when IBB was chased out in 1993, after the annulment of the June 12, election, he managed to win the political leadership of a conservative section of the north and now, they have rejected him”.

“IBB as you know is likely to go to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to pursue his ambition but the Jonathan group is making overture to him and the others to bridge the political gap in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).