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•Jonathan appoints Tafida, Sambawa, Gulak, Dawaki as Campaign Directors

•Atiku takes ambition to 'Facebook', 'Twitter', may be granted waiver by PDP

ABUJA, the nation’s capital, will today welcome 7,300 campaigners and thousands of others, courtesy of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).

After weeks of direct and indirect campaigns, Babangida, Nigeria’s eighth Commander-in-Chief, will formally launch his attempt to return to Aso Rock Presidential Villa, 17 years after he was forced to step aside. Venue is the Eagle Square.

The Nigerian Compass learnt last night that his campaign organisation, led by the Chairman of Daar Communications, Dr. Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, has mobilised 200 campaigners from each of the 36 states and 100 from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the “mother of all rallies”.

It was gathered that most of the hotels in Abuja “have been taken over by the campaigners because some of them cannot return to their bases tomorrow (today)”.

The 200 followers from Bayelsa State left Yenagoa, the state capital, for Abuja early yesterday to grace the official flag off of Babangida’s presidential ambition.

They took off from the IBB Campaign Office on Imgbi Road, Amarata, in about 20 18-seater buses as early as 7 a.m.

The state Coordinator of the IBB campaign outfit, Alaowei Opukeme, said more persons are expected to join the train in Abuja by air today.

According to him, the movement would do everything possible to garner support for Babangida in his aspiration to get the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.

Some of the campaigners with branded T-shirts adorned with Babangida’s photograph and PDP logo were seen in some of the hotels in Abuja and Eagle Square yesterday in a festive mood.

One of the members of the campaign organisation said Nigerians would today know “after the rally that General Babangida is serious about his determination to govern Nigeria again and correct past mistakes”.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, who will launch his campaign on Saturday, has nominated some members of his campaign team.

Some of those given the task to ensure the return of Jonathan to Aso Rock next year are: Alhaji Ahmed Ali Gulak, Director Contacts and Mobilisation; Isiamila Sambawa, Director of Media and Rev. Habu Dawaki, Director, Youth Affairs.

According to a Presidency source, the Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Senator Dalhatu Tafida, has been confirmed by Jonathan as his campaign Director-General.

Tafida’s name was earlier dropped, but was kicked against by some members of Jonathan Support Groups.

Gulak and Sambawa are National Coordinator and National Publicity Secretary of Goodluck Support Group (GSG) respectively.

While Gulak was former Speaker, Adamawa State House of Assembly and presidential aide, Sambawa was a minister in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and governorship aspirant in the 2007 elections in Kebbi State.

Said the source: “It is a sure banker that President Goodluck Jonathan will declare on Saturday. The date is a sure one.”

To ensure the success of the event on Saturday, the GSG has called on all coordinators of Jonathan Support Groups to send, at least, 60 people to Abuja for the declaration.

Determined to ensure an all-inclusive participation in his campaign, another aspirant and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has launched a new campaign website.

The website: www.atiku.org, is aimed at giving all Nigerians, including those living abroad , an opportunity to make input into his campaign.

“I want to run an inclusive campaign. I want to hear from all Nigerians and respond to their questions and concerns,” Atiku declared yesterday in a statement released by his campaign office in Abuja.

The website, which was launched on Monday, September 13, 2010, according to the statement, has already attracted over 2000 hits in less than 24 hours.

It added that Atiku also launched his presence in the social interactive media-Twitter and Facebook-as a way of attracting younger Nigerians to support his candidacy and to buy into his message of hope, experience and visionary leadership.

Said the statement: “The social media has generated over a thousand followers and supporters with exciting comments and contributions within 24 hours of launch.

“Atiku has acknowledged and appreciated the inputs and the huge traffic of comments so far made and has called on other Nigerians to link up with him through these communication channels to make good things happen.

“Atiku can be reached on facebook.com/atiku2011, while on Twitter at twitter.com/atiku11.

“Atiku’s Policy Document containing his five key priority areas and how he plans to address the many challenges facing the country is on the website for the review and critique of Nigerians.

“The Policy Document was produced after many studies and brain storming sessions by Nigerians of different academic and professional backgrounds.

“The initiatives have been reviewed and critique by many Nigerians. But no other platform gives us a wider forum for consultation with millions of Nigerians.

“I welcome Nigerians to review and critique the policy initiatives for us to move the country at a fast rate,” the former Vice-President and Presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 general elections said.

Meanwhile, as the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP holds today, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was yesterday locked in a marathon session to tidy up the memo to be submitted to the NEC.

Atiku’s waiver, according to a source at the meeting, was having some hitches due to mounting opposition from Adamawa, his home state.

According to the source, the NWC was trying to surmount the obstacle so that Atiku would be given an opportunity to compete for the party’s presidential ticket.

“The NWC is trying to play safe by giving equal opportunities to all aspirants who want to slug it out at the primaries. Whoever fails at the primary will not lay the blame at the door step of the NWC.

“The greatest fear of Nwodo is how to overcome division after the party primaries. This is why he is determined to give all aspirants the opportunity to test their popularity at the party’s primaries including a female aspirant.”

Atiku, who visited the PDP recently when the party secretariat got burnt, told reporters that there was no cause for alarm over his waiver.

He said that he had applied for the waiver through his state chapter of the party, adding that he had secured the assurance of the Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo-led NWC that he would be given the waiver.

But it was learnt that the Governor Murtala Nyako faction of the PDP in Adamawa State is unrelenting in its opposition to Atiku.

By the meeting of yesterday, the NWC hopes to tidy all loose ends “so that the waiver could be granted seamlessly by NEC.”

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, had Monday night said that there would be an emergency NEC but did not give details why the meeting was being called.

The NEC also coincided with Babangida’s declaration. The former military President has already taken an advantage of the NEC meeting by erecting an imposing billboard, welcoming the delegates to the meeting.

TO ensure a hitch-free election next year, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Eugene Amaju, has urged traditional rulers in the FCT to encourage politicians not to rig elections or circumvent the rules of the game.

The REC, who dropped the charge in the Abaji Area Council, during his maiden visit to the council to ascertain the level of preparation for the forth coming voters registration, stated that the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will not condone any connivance between the royal fathers and unscrupulous politicians.

Amaju, who was at the Palace of Ona of Abaji, Dr Adamu Baba Yunusa, told traditional rulers to avoid politicians who normally hide under the influence of the palace as a revered place to engage in illegal thumb printing.

The REC stated that monarchs and other traditional Council Chiefs would be actively involved in the training of ad-hoc staff for the exercise that will soon commence.

He pointed out that the new INEC was determined to purge the system of all forms of electoral malpractices, saying that hiding under the tradition to use the palace for rigging would not be allowed, adding that the law is not a respecter of any person, age and position.

In his response, the Ona of Abaji expressed appreciation at the bold steps being taken by the commission to use NYSC members for the 2011 elections, rather than just picking people on the street who will later collaborated with politicians to rig.

He advised politicians hiding under religion to perpetrate malpractices to put it aside and play the game according to rules, adding that elections in the past failed due to wrong approach.

The monarch then advocated for enough materials and its early arrival as well as staff welfare so as to nip in the bud any likely hitch, noting that any lasting solutions to electoral problems will be be welcomed by the traditional council.

By Lateef Ibrahim, Ayodele Adegbuyi, Johnchuks Onuanyim, Abuja & Chris Ejim, Yenagoa