2019!!! The Battle For A Consensus Candidate Intensifies, As PDP Sets Date To Thoroughly Screen Saraki, Atiku, Kwankwaso, David Mark, Others

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, Panel, set up to discuss the possibility of having a consensus Presidential candidate, will be meeting with all the Aspirants, and also screen them, on Thursday, 18th September, 2018.

The 12-man Panel, which is headed by Senator Walid Jibrin, is expected to first meet in the morning of Thursday, before inviting the Aspirants for the screening, later that day.

Authoritative sources within the PDP Board, revealed that all the 13 Presidential Aspirants had been contacted for the screening.

The Aspirants are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo; former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso; and former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa.

Others are: President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; former President of the Senate, David Mark; former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Tanimu Turaki (SAN); former Governor of Plateau State, Jona Jang; and former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi.

Also expected at the meeting are: former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido; Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed; and Usifo Stanley.

It was gathered that the Presidential Aspirants would be persuaded to have meetings among themselves, to see if they can agree on a consensus candidate.

Jubril, who will chair the meeting, confirmed that the Board would meet with the Aspirants.

“We will meet them on Thursday, in Abuja, but I will not tell you the location.

“We are talking with the Aspirants, and I have hope that they will all work together for the progress of our party, which will make us win the Presidential election in 2019”, he said.

It was gathered that the Aspirants had however, made up their minds not to drop their personal ambition.
A member of the BoT, noted that the Aspirants “do not want to hear anything about consensus, or stepping down for anybody at all.”

However, another Board member disclosed that the Aspirants could still strike a deal among themselves, before the October 5 and 6 dates for the Presidential Convention.

Meanwhile, investigations showed that the PDP is looking for a Presidential candidate that will be able to deflate the support base of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Northern part of the country.

A member of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party, maintained that the party would prefer a candidate that would break Buhari’s popularity in the North.

He said: “We are praying to have a candidate that will be loved by the entire country; a Nationalist, who will see the entire country as his base.

“We also want a candidate that is loved by the North, where we have zoned the ticket to. We need someone that can break the support base of President Buhari. That is just it.”