PDP divided over whether to go for a consensus candidate or conduct primary elections

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) leaders are bitterly divided over whether to adopt a consensus candidate for next year's presidential elections or to go ahead and hold primary elections later on this month.

Nigeria goes to the polls in February 2019 with President Muhammadu Buhari set to stand for a second term as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In the opposition PDP, there is a long list of candidates seeking the party nomination, including Atiku Abubakar,  Ahmed Makarfi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal, Bukola Saraki, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Sule Lamido, Tanimu Turaki, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jonah Jang, Ahmed Datti and David Mark.

Some party leaders, believed to be led by chairman Nyesom Wike, are in favour of agreeing on a consensus candidate but this move is opposed by the PDP governors. Apparently, the 13 governors have rejected what they see as a plot by some of their colleagues to impose a presidential candidate on the party.

Instead, the governors have offered to meet with the 12 presidential aspirants this week on their commitment to free and fair primaries. According to the governors, who met in Abuja on Sunday, it was discovered that one or two of them had an ulterior agenda to impose a candidate on the party.

Members of the PDP's board of trustees are said to be in favour of a consensus candidate saying this is necessary because the number of contestants is high. There are fears, however, that some party leaders have agreed on crowning former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the consensus candidate and want to impose him on the rest of the field.

One governor said: “We had a stormy session because we have one or two among us without an open mind and they are working to the answer for one candidate. We know these governors and in the fullness of time, we will expose them before they destroy our party and ruin its chances in 2019.

“Most of us said anybody working with agenda contrary to free and fair process will be resisted as we said we will like a fair game because PDP must get it right this time around. So, anybody with ulterior agenda is deceiving himself as no PDP governor or governors can force a process on us, we want the party to put the best candidate forward."

He added that the governors will also like to hear suggestions from the aspirants on the forthcoming primaries because Nigerians are looking forward to the party getting it right. Board of trustees chairman Walid Jibrin, said that they would impress on the aspirants, however, the dangers inherent in having such a large number of them in the race.

Describing the number of aspirants as unwieldy, Mr Jibrin said there were fears that there could be disagreement among the contestants that could lead to major divisions after the primaries. He added that they would not compel any of the aspirants to withdraw from the race, pointing out that rather, they would be persuaded to put the interest of the party above their personal ambitions.

Mr Jibrin, whose tenure has been renewed for another five years, urged members of the board of trustees to always maintain their honour and integrity by remaining neutral in all the processes leading to the emergence of a candidate. Going by the party’s guidelines, nominations for the presidential slot will close at 5pm today.

Yesterday, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar visited Jigawa State where he tried to persuade former governor Sule Lamido to step down for him. Visiting the former governor in his Bamaina country home, Alhaji Atiku explained that he did not go to Jigawa to campaign but to visit PDP members and his junior brother Sule Lamido.