2023 presidency: Atiku, Tambuwal, Saraki battle over 166 delegates

• …Delegation submits Wike’s form, says gov competent to rule
• …We will give all aspirants level playing field, PDP pledges 

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and former Senate President  Bukola Saraki  are ahead in the battle for the votes of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the National Assembly, according to an investigation.

At stake are 166 PDP delegate votes from the two chambers of the federal legislature.

One hundred and twenty-eight of the votes will come from the House of Representatives which Tambuwal headed between 2011 and 2015.

From the Senate are 38 votes. Saraki was its President from 2015 to 2019.

And as the various presidential aspirants in the PDP upped their game, supporters of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday submitted his nomination form at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.

The party pledged a level playing ground for all contestants in the primaries.

The Nation gathered that both Tambuwal and Saraki are leveraging on their political links with the National Assembly to boost their chances; the Sokoto State governor in the House of Representatives and Saraki in the Senate.

Sources said support for the duo in the legislature is being mobilized by their close allies in the two chambers.

Tambuwal is said to have an edge over Saraki and Atiku on the strength of the higher number of PDP Reps while Saraki is the favourite of PDP Senators.

A third force, which is led by a high ranking Rep from one of the states in the South-south, is said to be Atiku’s arrow head.

The group, sources said, has succeeded in getting some Reps to switch loyalty to Atiku and thereby narrowing Tambuwal’s chances.

Going by previous voting pattern in the National Assembly, individual and class interests may override ethnic and religious considerations when the chips are down.

The trend is currently playing out in the ongoing jostling for delegate votes among the lawmakers.

Permutations are being dictated by long term projections targeting legislative leadership positions in the next dispensation.

Those leading the mobilising drive for the presidential aspirants are doing so in expectation of reward for themselves.

Some of them are said to be positioning themselves for strategic elective or appointive offices should their preferred aspirant win the presidency in 2023.

There are 17 aspirants in the race for the PDP presidential ticket. Most of them have had interactive sessions with lawmakers in the two chambers in the past few weeks.

A former Senate President, Pius Anyim, was the first to meet with the lawmakers at two separate locations in Abuja.

Other aspirants that have similarly met with the lawmakers include Governor Wike; his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Udom Emmanuel; Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi.

Others are United States based medical doctor, Nwachukwu Anakwenze; industrialist, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa; former investment banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen among others.

The Senate Minority Leader, Eyinnaya Abaribe, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, have been hosting the meetings in their respective private residences.

One of the lawmakers, who confirmed the competitive nature of the jostling for votes by the presidential aspirants, hinted of ongoing moves by the caucus to unite for bloc voting.

He, however, said owing to conflicting interests, discussions in that regard have failed to yield any meaningful results.

The legislator, who did not want to be named, however, did not rule out the possibility of the caucus arriving at a consensus, adding that the issue would be resolved with input from  other key stakeholders.

When asked to give conservative figures of members secured by the various aspirants, the lawmaker said consultations were still ongoing.

He said: “Nothing is certain for now, and I can tell you that other aspirants outside the ones we mentioned are also infiltrating our ranks and getting assurances from members.

“As a matter of fact, there could be realignments and shift in positions as we make progress. Politics is not as static as you see it.

“Don’t be surprised if you see the entire permutations making a 360 turn around even at the voting arena.

“So, for now, you can run with what you have. But, of course, you should know that politics is dynamic and anything can change at any given time.”

Delegation submits Wike’s form, says governor competent to rule  

A delegation of supporters of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday submitted his nomination form for the PDP presidential race at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

The form was submitted to the National Organising Secretary of the PDP, Umar Bature, by Senator  Sulieman Nazif,  Wike’s Special Assistant on  Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Senator George Sekibo said Wike, if elected as president, would tackle the protracted insecurity, economic and infrastructural challenges facing the country.

Sekibo, who represents Rivers East Senatorial District, said since assumption of office in 2015, Wike has been able to transform the infrastructural landscape of Rivers State.

He said: “For us from Rivers State, we are proud to say that Governor Nyesom Wike has served diligently, has served very well. And we are sure he will bring that same service and extend it to this country.

“Just as he has eliminated insecurity in Rivers State, insecurity in Nigeria will be eliminated. Just as he has brought infrastructural revolution in Rivers, bad roads will be eliminated in Nigeria.

“We believe that when Nigerians give him (Wike) that opportunity to serve them as president, he is going to replicate what he has done in Rivers State and much more in the entire country. We have our confidence in him.

“This is a testimony from us from Rivers State that  he can serve Nigeria, and we believe most of the woes we are crying about every day, by the grace of God, when Nyesom Wike becomes the president of the country will be drastically reduced and eliminated.”

Also, Senator Lado Danmarke, who was among those who purchased the form for Wike, said they took the decision because the Rivers State governor had competence and capability to restore the lost glory of the country.

He said: “And we believe that he (Wike) will make us proud. We believe that he will make Nigeria proud. He has the capacity, he has the competence to restore the lost glory of our dear country.

“That is why we believe in him, that is why we are committed to this rescue mission. We believe he will take us to the promise land.”

Receiving the nomination form, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, said the PDP would give all presidential aspirants a level playing field.

He said: “We wish him (Wike) the very best in this contest and we believe the party will benefit from the process of selecting our presidential candidate.

“And as we said from the beginning, everybody will be given a level playing field to exhibit the potential they have for the country and Nigeria.

“We believe that Governor Wike is one of our candidates that have those qualities to lead Nigeria, and that is why we wish him well. We also thank you for coming to submit this form.”

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