Crack in Ciroma’s group •President meets CAN, NSCIA in Warri, Kaduna

Posted by admin Latest Politics Thursday, March 24th, 2011

A huge crack has occurred in the leadership of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF), headed by

former Finance Minister, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, as some top chieftains of the group have opted to back the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was gathered that no fewer than four top leaders of the forum had, in the last two weeks, parted ways with the Ciroma-led forum, even as such leaders had taken up the task of canvassing support for Jonathan in the North.

It was gathered that some of the leaders of the NPLF got impatient with the way Mallam Ciroma had been delaying the planned accord between the forum and President Jonathan.

In a bid to ensure that lost grounds were covered, it was gathered that two leading members of the NPLF, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai and Dr Shettima Mustapha, had severed relationship with the NPLF and teamed up with other top northerners, including Dr Hassan Adamu, Wakilin Adamawa and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Tafidan Adamawa, to campaign for Jonathan in the North.

It was gathered that besides talking with the forum as an entity, Jonathan had also communicated its members, who are regarded as statesmen, on the need to ensure the unity of Nigeria through the ticket he jointly holds with Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

Sources said that the decision of Alhaji Yakassai and Dr Mustapha to dump Ciroma was as a result of the discussions between Jonathan and leading political figures in the North.

It was further gathered that the team headed by Yakassai had been meeting with traditional rulers, imams and political leaders of the zone on behalf of the president in the last one week.

The development came on the heels of a statement made by the pioneer national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Lar, that the North was solidly behind President Jonathan.

Chief Lar, who made the statement when interacting with journalists in Abuja, said that the North would back Jonathan in the April elections.

He noted that for sometime now, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress of Progessive Change (CPC) had bandied the idea of a northern consensus candidate between them for the April 9 presidential election.

He said: “I consider this defeatist attitude as a sign of surrender and admission that Nigerians have rejected their politics of ethnic and religious bigotry. These same parties are behind the often repeated insinuation that President Jonathan may not win the presidential election on the first ballot and may be forced to a run-off.

“These same insinuations were peddled during the concluded presidential primary, where Nigerians spoke out loudest against politics of primordial sentiments.

“I wish to state unequivocally and to reassure Nigerians that all regions, including the North, are solidly behind President Jonathan and will massively vote for him in the April polls.

Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing nationwide consultation with various interest groups across the country on the best way forward for Nigeria, post-May 29, President Jonathan is to meet with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NCSIA), this weekend.

President Jonathan has also promised strong legislation that would put an end to the monster of piracy that bedevilled the entertainment industry.

He stated this while addressing stakeholders of the industry at an interactive dinner.

The president assured that the assets of anyone convicted of piracy would be forfeited and ploughed back into the industry, to serve as deterrent to others.

He noted that he was not meeting with the industry’s stakeholders because he wanted to win the 2011 presidency, adding that even as deputy governor of Bayelsa State, he established special secondary schools where students with special skills were given special training to hone their talents for productive use.

Renowned artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya, told President Jonathan that “the entire industry is looking up to you to employ our arts and talents to embellish national events and our missions abroad. We need to maximise opportunities of the industry to project the national image.”

While the national president of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, will on Friday lead top officials of CAN to play host to President Jonathan, in Warri, Delta State, on Friday, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, will lead the NSCIA to a parley with the president in Kaduna, on Sunday.

-Tribunewp_posts