Former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, former National Security Adviser (NSA), Aliyu Gusau and Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki yesterday pointed at ways the north can clinch the 2011 presidential primaries of the party.
In a joint statement by their campaign organisations yesterday, the trio which former vice president, Atiku Abubakar defeated to clinch the north�s consensus ticket in in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said defeating President Goodluck Jonathan in the primaries goes beyond the selection of a consensus candidate, but requires hard work and togetherness to achieve the purpose.
In a joint statement made available to Daily Champion, they thanked Mallam Adamu Ciroma�s panel "for the able, mature and statesmanly way it handled the process that led to the selection of Atiku," saying, "this sentiment reinforces the individual statements already issued by the aspirants themselves in this regard.
Part of the statement read: "We also wish to congratulate Atiku on his selection as the consensus candidate from among the four aspirants.
"No doubt, the completion of this phase of the selection process, signals the beginning of real hard work to unite our nation, and reconcile the differences that separate our people. It is our hope and expectation that this healing process will lead to the renewal of hope across the land and the commencement of the journey of national rebirth and collective self-discovery.
"Together we pledge to work tirelessly for the emergence of Atiku as not only the winner of the PDP presidential primaries, but most importantly his election as the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the 2011 Presidential election.
"We are amply reassured that Atiku Abubakar has the requisite democratic credentials and strategic capacity of turning around our national fortune for the better and will provide the kind of visionary and reform-minded leadership that will impact positively on all national sectors including but not limited to security of life and property, stable power supply, food sufficiency and agricultural transformation, the Niger-Delta peace process, job creation, educational and health sector reforms and the revamping of our public infrastructure.
Meanwhile, national chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo has said if Atiku gets the nod of delegates, everybody, including Jonathan will support and campaign for him.
Nwodo however called on Nigerians to vote without regard to where any of the candidates come from adding that the era of politics of affinity was over.
He said: "We are tired of politics of affinity. We want those who want to lead us to tell what they plan to do. I want Nigerians to vote for those people who can change our lives no matter where they come from," he said.
Speaking at an interaction with media executives in Abuja yesterday, Nwodo said the PDP is just one, strong and united family that will stand firmly behind any of the aspirants that picks the party�s ticket at the upcoming primaries.
Though he said the date for the presidential primaries of the party is yet to be fixed as the general elections timetable has just been published by the Independent National electoral commission (INEC), Nwodo added that if however President Jonathan becomes the flag-bearer, Atiku will also support and campaign for him.
"If Atiku wins, Jonathan will campaign for him. Whoever wins will be a consensus candidate of the party. He will be a consensus leader, a unifying leader," he said.
"I don�t want Nigerians to see our leaders from the angle of where they come from or from the point of view of their religion. Each one of them is eminently qualified to lead the country and we are trusting that our delegates will do justice when they vote," he stressed.
Nwodo, who re-emphasized his new gospel of reforms and internal democracy in the party, also said the times are long past when those seeking elective office would depend on the incumbent president or national executives for victory.
He said no one, not even the president, will guarantee the election of any office seeker as such power lies with the people.
Stating that the party will remain supreme, Nwodo said the PDP is lucky to have had Presidents who believe in reform and supremacy of the party and are ready to play along as loyal party members.
"We are reforming. We are also lucky that the late Umaru Yar�Adua and President Jonathan all believed in reforms and supremacy of the party. They believed that the party should be supreme. They will tell you that they are leaders of a PDP-led government and not PDP leaders. It is the chairman and his executive who are PDP leaders.
"Internal democracy must come back. If we do that, we will produce our first eleven to challenge others in the election. That is the legacy we want to leave. We want to grow a new crop of leaders that care. Therefore, for people to elect you, they must trust you, they must believe in you. So, forget the tradition of coming to the national secretariat. Go to the people. Talk to them. If they vote for you, we will be proud to present you as our candidate," he stated.
Stressing the need for reforms in the party, Nwodo who assured that the national secretariat of the party will be of no help to any aspirant seeking imposition, noted that though the reforms may take time to be achieve, the end will still be in the interest of Nigeria.
"Our reforms will take some time. We must be realistic about it. We met an executive where one person wrote the list and he held the structure. We met the structure in its second year and it is difficult to change it. Even when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said we should repeat congresses in some states, we still met resistance.
"It is holders of the structure who determine who gets in and who does not get in and that accounts for reasons we are having defections because those who the holders of the structure have told they will not return will move to other parties where they believe they will contest and win. So, until we are able to have congresses where all stakeholders in a ward, for instance, depending on the number of votes they bring, become ward executives, you will still find the kind of thing we are fighting," he stated.
On the decision of aspirants from the north to settle for a consensus candidate, Nwodo said the party has nothing against the decision adding however, that it is part of political strategies employed by players on the field to better their chances.
"Every candidate employs strategies they think will help them win. We wish them luck. But mind you, it is a game of wits. It is a game of strategy. It is a game of appealing to the people,� he said.
On proposed changes to the constitution which will make chairmen of standing committees of the National assembly automatic members of the national executive committee of their respective political parties, Nwodo, who expressed fears over such transforming into a dictatorship of the national assembly, noted however that it was a welcome development so far it is properly balanced.
He said: "I believe that if the National Assembly checks the excesses of the governors and make them the excesses of the national assembly then we are not safe.
"If it is balanced, then we are okay. What we want is a balanced National Electoral Commission (NEC) of the different political parties. I will go to the National Assembly with the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP to plead that the law we want is a law that will bring about a more robust NEC for the political parties," he said.
Nwodo said the quest for reforms in the party is aimed at returning power to the people in the vision of founders of the party adding that despite controlling power for 12 years now, the level of disapproval of the party had soared because the elected representatives of the people refused to deliver democracy dividends to them.
"If you are happy with where we are coming from, I am not. We formed the PDP on core values and promised ourselves that we will manage our resources well for the people. After 12 years, what is the result? We were winning elections massively but the people did not like us even when we win because we were not delivering democracy dividends to them," he said.
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