The search in the North for a consensus candidate to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election may soon be over. Although Jonathan has not signified an intention to seek re-election, there is serious speculation that he will.
Multiple sources told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday that the region’s powerbrokers are rooting for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to run for President.
Our correspondents gathered that some senior politicians in the opposition mega party, the All Progressives Congress, have made overtures to Tambuwal to dump the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and be the APC flag bearer in 2015.
A former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in the 2011 general election, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, reportedly held a private meeting with the Speaker last week to persuade him to join the mega party.
The Northern Elders’ Forum said although it had not decided on a consensus northern candidate for the presidency in 2015, Tambuwal’s “youthfulness and performance” as the Speaker made him an attractive option in the region’s bid to reclaim the presidency.
The spokesman for the forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said Tambuwal would get the support of many Nigerians, especially northerners, should he emerge the presidential candidate of any political party.
Another influential group in the North, the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, noted that supporting Tambuwal was not based only on the preferences of the people of the region.
The coordinator of the group, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, told one of our correspondents that Tambuwal had the potential to turn the fortunes of the country around.
Mohammed further described Tambuwal as a credible alternative to Jonathan.
“I’m saying this because I know Tambuwal and I also know Jonathan. So, I can say, with some certainty, who is a better leader; Tambuwal or Goodluck. We have seen how Goodluck has performed or underperformed in the past few years as the President, and we have seen how Tambuwal has performed as the Speaker, clearly Tambuwal is a better leader than Jonathan.”
Similarly, the National President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettimah, said Tambuwal could win the hearts of youths in the North but only if he was not sponsored by “northern politicians who contributed to the woes of the region.”
However, the Speaker’s office denied knowledge of any plans by the APC to pick Tambuwal as its presidential candidate.
His Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Imam Imam, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that talks about 2015 presidency were “distracting Tambuwal who has a four-year mandate, as a member of the House of Representatives, to serve.”
Imam added, “We have spoken on this issue (2015 presidency) several times and our position has not changed. The Speaker is preoccupied with serving his four-year mandate. He is about to enter the mid-term of the four-year mandate. All his efforts and attention are devoted to serving his term as a member of the House of Representatives. That is all we can say.”
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