Ahlaji Atiku Abubakar, emerges the consensus candidate for the Northerns.....ooops!!!

SOURCE : THE SUN NEWSPAPER.








It was shock and bewilderment
and suppressed anger among
the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) Presidential aspirants
following announcement of
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the
Northern consensus candidate
for the party ’s presidential
primaries.

Details emerging from the camps
of the aspirants, General Ibrahim
Babangida, General Mohammed
Gusau and Abubakar Bukola
Saraki, indicated that they were
not pleased with the process
leading to Atiku’s adoption but
resolved to accept the verdict in
good faith.

Efforts made to seek their
reaction to the outcome of the
meeting of the 17 wisemen
entrusted with the task of
choosing the consensus
candidate proved abortive as
they declined to make official
comment other than that they
have accepted.

Daily Sun gathered that all the
four aspirants were to issue joint
statement on the outcome of the
screening for the consensus
Presidential candidates.

Alhaji Atiku, it was gathered
emerged through a secret ballot
cast by the 17 men but it could
not be ascertained what their
scores were as at press time.
Sources close to the Screening
committee had earlier decided to
carry out open voting, but opted
for secret ballot “so that the
identity of who votes for who
will not bring animosity. ”

It was learnt that after the
selection, the four aspirants
were invited to Mallam Adamu
Ciroma ’s residence at Wuse 2,
Abuja, where the choice was
disclosed to all of them before it
was made public.

A source from the camp of one
of the aspirants that lost out,
quoting the report of his
principal on how Atiku emerged,
said “the majority of the
committee members chose Atiku
during screening because of his
political doggedness and
sagacity, which they believe
placed him far and above other
aspirants. ”

“They said the North will need a
‘real’ politician to tackle President
Jonathan at the primary and that
person is Atiku. One, they argued that for him to be able to fight
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo to a stand still when
his office as the vice-president
was declared vacant, using
politics and judicial process,
spoke volume of his
doggedness.