Governors win order of PDP primaries battle

PDP Governors

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors won a major battle yesterday.

They forced the ruling party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to reverse the proposed order of primary elections, which many said would be in favour of the President’s camp.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party is to meet today in Abuja to ratify the modalities for the primaries.

The NWC had three weeks ago adopted a tentative order for its primaries as follows: National Assembly, presidential, governorship and state assembly.

The presidential primaries were slated to start on October 3 and the candidate to emerge on October 10 at the Ratification National Convention.

But the governors mounted pressure on the party to reverse the order. They succeeded yesterday. In the new arrangement, the governorship primaries will come before the presidential primaries.

The development has caused disquiet in the camp of President Goodluck Jonathan as the change in the order of primaries is regarded as a booby trap.

The Nation

It was gathered that the survival of the PDP formed a major plank upon which the NWC changed its stand.

The new order of primaries to be ratified today is: National Assembly; governorship and state Houses of Assembly; and presidential primaries.

A source said: "While the NWC meeting was going on, some governors, including a few of them serving as coordinators for Jonathan, asked members to allow the presidential primaries to come last to preserve the unity of the party.

"The governors threatened that if the NWC allows the presidential primaries to come ahead of governorship primaries, they would move for the dissolution of NWC at the NEC meeting.

"So, the threats from the governors and the G-84 (state chairmen and secretaries of PDP) were real and the NWC had no choice but to allow peace to reign in the party.

"The governors have had their way, it is left for the NEC to accept or reject it."

It was also learnt that the NWC had sent a three-man delegation to the Presidential Villa to explain the situation to the President, who is the leader of the party.

"What the NWC did was to bow to the governors and avoid a stormy session today at the NEC.

"But all is not well in Jonathan’s camp because some of the governors can renege on their promise to back Jonathan once they secure own tickets.

"The order of primaries is slippery for Jonathan in a country where politics is more of abracadabra. The governors have won round one, let us see if they will laugh last at the NEC meeting."

A top party source added: "There is no way the governors can betray the President because they still have a major hurdle to cross. The party has the final say on whose names will be sent to INEC as its governorship candidates.

"I think the fear of the unknown is worrying most of the governors."

Besides the NEC meeting, the choice of a running mate is still a major challenge that Jonathan may need to address.

There is a fresh plot by some Northern leaders to convince the President to drop Vice-President Namadi Sambo, despite his robust input into Jonathan’s campaign plan.

Sambo is also the Deputy Co-ordinator of Goodluck-Sambo 2011 Campaign.

It was, however, learnt that the President has remained adamant on his decision to swim and sink with the Vice-President.

A source said: "At the Presidential Campaign Council meeting on September 7, the President told the Council that he has nominated Sambo as his VP for 2011 poll.

"An excited Sambo even stood up and made an acceptance speech before the council."

Some politicians from Kaduna State and Northern leaders have been pushing for a Northern governor as Jonathan’s running mate.

It was learnt that there is fresh pressure on Jonathan to have a change of mind on Sambo so as to make an inroad into the North.

They also claimed that ex-President Ibrahim Babangida has almost taken over Kaduna State where Sambo ought to naturally hold the forte.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: "In the last few days, President Jonathan has been under suffocating pressure from his supporters from Kaduna State and some leaders in some parts of the North to drop his deputy.

"The people are saying that there are growing political sentiments against Jonathan’s presidential bid, especially from prominent politicians from Kaduna State, who are known to be very close to the Vice-President and that he {Sambo) has not been able to handle them.

"We were shocked that even Gen. Ibrahim Babangida has large followers in a state where the VP comes from. He was a governor in the state for years, yet the VP has not been able to curtail the growing political opposition against the President.

"Their argument is that if the VP cannot deliver his state to the president, then he has no business being Jonathan’s running mate.

"I think these aggrieved Northerners have their preference for a sitting governor, who could assist to sway the North to back Jonathan."

But a Presidency source said: "There is no doubt that there is pressure on the President but he has had a good working relationship with VP Sambo and will not change his mind.

"I think it is absolute rubbish to assume that the President will abandon Sambo midway."
learnt that the NWC decided to reverse its earlier decision on order of primaries, following threats of a showdown by governors, state chairmen and secretaries of the party at the NEC session.