2015: North splits into 9 camps •9 northern govs back Jonathan

Posted by admin Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), Governors, Presidency Monday, September 10th, 2012

AMIDST clamour for the return of presidency to the North in 2015, there are strong indications that the three zones of the North have split into nine presidential camps, with reports indicating that there is a growing gang-up against the Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido.

Confidential checks across the northern region in the last one week indicated that the rumoured anointing of the Jigawa State governor for the presidency has raised the tempo of political activities with the otherwise dormant camps gradually coming to life while the 19 governors of the region have reportedly taken one position or the other on the 2015 issue.

Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that the presidential camps that had emerged in the North as a response to the Lamido anointing are Namadi Sambo/Goodluck Jonathan; Governor Babangida Aliyu; Atiku Abubakar; Senate President David Mark; Senator Bukola Saraki; Governor Isa Yuguda; Governor Sule Lamido; General Muhammadu Buhari/Nasir el-Rufai and Senator Sani Yerima/Ali Modu Sheriff.

The northern wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was discovered to have split into seven presidential camps. The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) remains under uneasy alliance between General Buhari and Mallam el-Rufai, while the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) is under the banner of former Governors Ali Modu Sheriff and Sani Yerima.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the PDP camp was witnessing intense activities with unconfirmed reports indicating that Islamists across the North were rallying round the Bauchi State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, due to what was called his pro-Islamists policies in his state.

It was learnt that Senator Mark was having hard times convincing his supporters to stay behind President Jonathan for re-election, even as his henchmen were said to have started mobilisation to secure the coveted seat and frustrate the supposed endorsement of the Jigawa State governor.

Findings, however, showed that despite the agitation in the North, nine out of the 15 PDP governors in the region were still supporting President Jonathan for re-election in 2015, a development said to have been accelerated by the Lamido factor in the race for the presidency.

PDP northern governors said to be covertly or overtly with the Jonathan/Sambo ticket include Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State; Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State; Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State; Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and Idris Wada of Kogi State.

Others include Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State; Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State; Jonah Jang of Plateau State and Usman Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi State.

Further investigations showed that while three of the remaining six PDP governors were rumoured to be in the presidential race (Niger/Jigawa/ Bauchi), the other three (Kwara/Katsina/Adamawa), were said to be out of the Jonathan/Sambo camp because of either the interest of their godfathers or their allegiance to other presidential hopefuls.

For the CPC, it was learnt that there is a growing pressure on General Buhari to back the candidature of Mallam Rufai, who will then pick his running mate from the South-West geopolitical zone.

The ANPP is, however, likely to witness the emergence of another islamist, former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Yerima as a presidential standard-bearer. Yerima, it will be recalled, pioneered the introduction of Sharia into state governance in northern Nigeria, a quality his allies see as a political asset.

-Tribunewp_posts