By Yusuf Alli
For the second time in one month, some leaders of the North met yesterday in Abuja to strategise on next year’s elections.
They were led by former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The meeting is part of ongoing plans to ensure that the North produces the president next year, based on the People's Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) zoning arrangement.
The contention of the leading lights of the North is that it is entitled to two terms in office, according to an understanding which allowed former President Olusegun Obasanjo to have two terms from 1999 to 2007.
The meeting, which started at about 8.40pm at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, was attended by some former governors, former party chieftains, former senators and former members of the House of Representatives.
Details of the agenda were kept secret to avoid security scrutiny, it was learnt.
The invitation was said to have been restricted to those who believe that zoning must be in the North’s favour next year. There were five leaders from each of the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
At the meeting were a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma; former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Muhammadu Yusufu, former Governors Mohammed Sha’aba Lafiagi (Kwara), Mohammed Goni (Borno), former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu; Second Republic Minister of Commerce Bello Maitama Yusuf; Ibrahim Isa Kaita; former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Air Vice Marshal Hamzat Abdullahi; and former PDP National Chairman Audu Ogbeh.
Others are former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jubril Maigari; former National Chairman of the Democratic Party of Nigeria(DPN) Saleh Hassan; Gen. Garba Wushishi; former Minister of Police Affairs Gen. David Jemibewon; and Suleiman Isyaku.
There are: Alhaji Bello Kurfi; former Minister of Internal Affairs Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Magoro; Senator Mohammed Ahmed; Amb. Yahaya Kwande; Senator Zaynab Kure; House of Representatives member Kola Yusuf; Senator Matori; Mai Adamu; Senator Daniel Saror; Ezekiel Ibrahim (Yobe), former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Salihu Ibrahim and Senator Usman Al-bishir.
Babangida arrived at about 8.07pm. Atiku came in at 8.38pm.
The delegates went into a closed door session after clearance at a desk close to the entrance of the centre’s Main Hall.
According to a former governor, who spoke in confidence, the session was aimed at retaining the presidency in the North.
He said: "The North is insisting that power must remain in the region in 2011. While the meeting might not be personal, it is correct that the session was part of a move to stop President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.
"An agreement must be an agreement – whether it is written or unwritten. Most Northern leaders are not happy that some stalwarts of the PDP are just out to ‘hijack’ the presidency from the North in defiance of the power sharing agreement in the party.
"If the North has its way, it would not mind negotiating a new written power accord with the South-West, the South-East and the South-South to stop Jonathan’s re-election plan.
"I think a new coalition may emerge from the latest meeting as part of Plan B to checkmate moves by the PDP to renege on its existing zoning formula."
But former Plateau State Governor Solomon Lar, who spoke on the telephone from Germany, insisted that PDP’s zoning arrangement was designed as a stop-gap measure.
Lar, the pioneer chair of PDP, said: "Well, I have already stated earlier that the zoning formula was a temporary thing to solve a particular problem or serve a purpose. "I will soon be back and talk to you fully on this and the emerging development."
On May 6, Atiku warned against moves to alter the zoning formula.
No comments:
Post a Comment