June 05, (THEWILL) – Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after polling 371 votes out of 767 during the party’s Presidential Primary Election and Special Convention held on May 28 and 29 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Atiku defeated his closest rival, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who polled 237 votes. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, came a distant third with 70 votes, while Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State scored 38 votes.
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, scored 14 votes and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State polled 20 votes.
Atiku Abubakar has spent the last few days reaching out to his opponents at the primary for their support in the task ahead.
The former Vice President spoke on the need for all to work together to ensure the party’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election in 2023.
He had in his acceptance speech given his fellow contestants the assurance that he was ready to work with them and give them a sense of belonging in the party, come 2023.
He expressed appreciation for their efforts to sustain the democratic process in the party and said he looked forward to working with them closely in order to build the party to a level where it can take over the government
Appealing to all aggrieved members of the PDP to return, he pledged to address their grievances within the party.
It is now interesting that there are underground moves among the party’s leaders, especially those from the South, to pick the vice presidential slot.
Although Atiku may have made an input, the picking of the party’s vice presidential candidate is going to be done by the National Working Committee (NWC) in collaboration with the Members of the Board of Trustees (BoTs). And since the picking of the vice presidential ticket is not going to be done through voting or any election, there are underground moves by various interests within the party as usual.
While many political watchers have expressed the opinion that the Vice President will be picked from the South-East, analysts have warned that the voting strength of the PDP in the South-South should not be naively ignored. It is believed that the region will be favoured. In fact, there is an assumption that a serving governor will be favoured to become Atiku Abubakar’s deputy. The likely nominees for the job are Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.
NYESOM WIKE
Aside from emerging as runner-up in the PDP presidential primary, Wike is a respected party man. He used to boast that he had never left the PDP for another political party. He is also known to be a major financier of the party since the PDP left the national governance in 2015.
Political analysts believe he deserves to pick the vice presidential slot, given his political pedigree and commitment to the party. However, many are cautious of his temperament.
One is also worried that with the way things are going, if the PDP fails to gain power at the federal level, Wike may be forced to go on holiday because he has not obtained the senatorial nomination form and so cannot be in the Senate.
Therefore if there is anybody that needs the post of vice president most, Wike is the one. But the question is, looking at the experience of former President Goodluck Jonathan and incumbent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s second term in office, in which they were sort of pushed aside, will Wike be able to endure a situation where he is rendered almost irrelevant in the day-to-day running of government? Considering his antecedents, it is difficult to provide an answer to the question.
IFEANYI OKOWA
Many people believe that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is best suited to be Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. Those who are in this school of thought believe his meekness and political sagacity is enough to make him the PDP’s vice presidential candidate.
It must however be quick to point out that if there is any former governor that is close to Atiku in the South, it is former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanafe Ibori. The relationship between Ibori and Okowa seem to have gone sour with the recently conducted primary of the PDP in the state.
It would be recalled that Sheriff Oborevwori, Speaker of the Delta House of Assembly won the PDP governorship primary in Delta State. He defeated David Edevbie, commissioner for finance during the James Ibori administration, who is believed to be Ibori’s candidate for the governorship position.
It is therefore clear that Ibori will not put in a word to Atiku for Okowa. Perhaps he can do so only if Okowa reverses the PDP governorship primary in favour of Ibori’s candidate and therefore, trade off his candidate for the vice presidential position at the federal level.
UDOM EMMANUEL
Emmanuel has a great chance of picking the Vice Presidential slot of the PDP. Being a former Executive Director of Zenith Bank will give balance to Atiku, who may not be well versed in economics. This becomes more necessary, given the economic situation of the country.
Aside this, Emmanuel, a cerebral politician who came fourth in the presidential primary, has been governor of the rich state of Akwa Ibom for more than seven years and he is somebody who can easily source money for a general election which will featured the PDP against the ruling party APC that has been in power for almost eight years.
Emmanuel’s support may be needed to buoy Atiku financially. It is believed that the latter is no longer as rich as he used to be.
GODWIN OBASEKI
Obaseki has a distant chance of becoming the vice presidential candidate of the PDP, but some people believe his close relationship with Atiku during the PDP presidential primaries may fetch him the job. He was seen on the rostrum while Atiku was reading his acceptance speech. His sour relationship with Wike, who was seen as the arch opponent of At, may also boost his chances.
However many who are not in support of the Edo State governor becoming Atiku’s deputy are of the opinion that Obaseki is not a run-of-the-mill politician, but a technocrat. It was therefore their view that Obaseki will not be a valuable asset to Atiku Abubakar’s campaign, when it kicks off in September this year.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
