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General Ibrahim Babangida

The adoption of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) may after all not have ended the desire of the retired General to run.

Sources have revealed that the retired General will any moment from now announce his defection to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) as pressures on him to toe this line have not ceased.

Babangida, from impeccable sources would not likely survive the pressure to decamp to another party to ensure the north actualises its plans to produce the president in May at all costs.

Saturday Sun can authoritatively report that Babangida’s supporters feel betrayed and angry that members of the NPLF committee saddled with the responsibility of picking one person, among the former head of state, Atiku, Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki and former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau, chose another presidential aspirant when Babangida not only ranked highest in the criteria listed but also has large following across the country.

But beyond that lost battle, the calculation now is that the north feels cheated and has the clear signs that the candidates of the opposition parties from the north vying for the presidency might not make any impact to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan. The way out of the possibility of losing is to beef up the fight in choosing another candidate of a more formidable war chest to slug it out with the PDP and eventually capture power.

Sources close to the Babangida camp said that his supporters have been putting pressure on him to take advantage of the opportunity the amendment of the ANNP constitution presents and defect to the party. “Leaders of the ANPP are disposed to a candidate that could win the presidential election”, the source revealed.

The forces behind this plot argue that since the NPLF was not fair in its choice, Babangida could, as well, renege on his promise to accept its choice of consensus candidate.

The ANPP had amended its constitution and added a provision that any former head of state that wishes to pursue his presidential ambition in the political party was free to do so. The party had delayed its national convention, so that PDP would conclude its own, to make room for aggrieved members of the party to come over the ANPP.

Saturday Sun was reliably told that the Babangida camp believes that since the retired army officer would not press his presidential ambition in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) he would not have breached any agreement if he defects to the ANPP.

Sources revealed that after the NPLF forum announced Atiku as consensus candidate, some leaders of ANPP started lobbying Babangida’s supporters to prevail on him to come over to the party and pick its presidential ticket. Among ANPP leaders who want Babangida and in the forefront of the lobby is Borno State governor, Alhaji Modu Sheriff and former Kogi State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Audu. These two top shots of the ANPP, sources revealed, were instrumental to the emergence of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu as the national chairman of the party and wants a formidable presidential candidate in next year’s election.

It was gathered that the ANPP leaders want to reenact what happened in 2003 when former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari picked the presidential ticket, despite the fact that he joined the party not long before the primaries.

Babangida camp’s calculation

The Babangida camp is considering the option of joining the ANPP, as he reckons that he may eventually end up as northern preferred/consensus candidate in the 2011 presidential election. The calculation is that since President Goodluck Jonathan defeated Atiku at the primaries of the PDP, to pick the presidential ticket, it rendered the NPLF plot to have a president of northern extraction take over power from May 29 a nullity.

The belief is that in an election where Babangida squares up with Jonathan, northern political leaders would have no choice than to pitch their tent with him. Sources also revealed that such development would also see Atiku, Gusau and Saraki indirectly working with Babangida, believing that he would return to the PDP if he wins the election.

It was gathered that Babangida’s supporters are pressing it on him that if he refuses to join the ANPP and picks its presidential ticket, Buhari may be the beneficiary of the suspected defeat of Atiku at PDP primaries, since the North may switch its support to the Congress for Political Change (CPC), in a presidential election where Jonathan and Buhari are candidates of their political parties.

Anger against Ciroma committee

The Babangida camp revealed that the General’s supporters are insinuating a deliberate shortchange, betrayal and back stabbing by the nine members of the Malam Adamu Ciroma committee. They accused the group of making a decision against the run of play, insisting that the committee didn’t adhere to due process in its choice. These aggrieved Babangida diehards say that media reports on how members of the Ciroma committee voted were true. They contend that members of the committee chose to adopt secret ballot, in order to execute the plot of not picking Babangida.

Babangida started losing out in the consensus arrangement when the Ciroma committee decided to visit the states to get additional information about the preparedness of the aspirants, which was beyond its brief. It was learnt that rather than meet with major stakeholders in the North, especially the Northern Governors Forum, the committee selected a handful of Emirs and some other traditional rulers.

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Saturday Sun gathered that the committee, in investigating the structures of the presidential aspirants in the consensus option, observed that Babangida had offices in 29 states, while Atiku had in 18 states. Saraki and Gusau were said to have offices in 12 and 14 states respectively. Also, the committee observed that Babangida had supporters spread across the country, especially those he empowered while in office. Based on these findings, Babangida was the favourite of members of the Ciroma committee before the Eid el Fitri holiday.

It was after the Sallah break, the committee started sounding discordant tunes. First, members of the group, it was gathered, were divided between conducting an open ballot and or secret balloting. Some of them reasoned that on account of their ages, they should not be afraid of conducting an open ballot, but Chief Audu Ogbeh, reportedly argued in favour of secret balloting to allow the members free choice.

If the Action Congress and its new coalition partners stick to their plans, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, will fly the flag of the new Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2011 presidential election..

NEXT learnt yesterday that AC top brass as well as some chieftains of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Democratic Peoples Party, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and Congress for Progressive Change have in the past weeks engaged in a series of meetings and negotiations expected to culminate in the drafting of Mr. Ribadu into the presidential race. The National Conscience Party, led by Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, is expected to join the coalition.

Our sources said at several meetings held in Abuja and Lagos by the group, it was agreed that Mr. Ribadu was the strongest and the most credible candidate that could be fielded by the opposition to dethrone the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

No decision has been taken on who Mr. Ribadu’s running mate would be..

Leaders of the coalition, it was learnt, met with Mr. Ribadu during his visit to Nigeria from his Washington base in June. Another delegation from the group also reportedly met the former EFCC chairman in Washington to pressure him to shun offers of appointment from President Goodluck Jonathan and return home to participate in the political process.

The former police officer is expected back in Nigeria later this month, during which arrangements for his formal declaration for the presidential race would be finalised.

Mr. Ribadu’s candidature might alter Nigeria’s political equation. The country is dominated by the PDP, which has been in power since 1999 when the nation returned to constitutional democracy.

The ruling party is still bickering over whether it should retain a zoning formula, which allows the presidency to be rotated between the North and the South.

Before zeroing in on Mr. Ribadu, others considered by the group for the presidential ticket were a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir el-Rufai; a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2007 election, Pat Utomi.

“But after extensive discussions, we decided that Ribadu is our best bet,” a member of the coalition said. “If he agrees to run, that will be great for our country. He is a credible and energetic young man who will do well. All we want to do is to enthrone credible and efficient leadership for our country.”

When contacted yesterday, Mr. Ribadu was evasive on whether he would contest the 2011 election or not.

“Whether I will run or not is a decision for another day,” he said. “But I will quickly add that what Nigeria needs is good leadership that the people believe in, that will bring the people together, provide stability, security, justice and peace.

“We need a leadership that will not allow wastage of our resources. I agree with the Greek proverb that says a society grows great when all men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. People should be willing to selflessly serve their country without wanting anything in return,” he said.

On whether he has been contacted by the Action Congress coalition, Mr. Ribadu laughed and said, “I don’t want to single out any one group. I have been in constant touch with a lot of Nigerians of all shades and opinions who mean well for our country.”

Selling the candidature

The National publicity secretary of the AC, Lai Mohammed, could not be reached yesterday, but he had told journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday that the new Action Congress of Nigeria would unveil its presidential candidate, who will not be older than 50, at the end of this month.

Mr. Ribadu will be 50 in November.

Mr. Mohammed and some party chiefs have reportedly been travelling round the South West region to sell Mr. Ribadu’s candidature and planned coalition to party members in the zone.

A visit to the five other geopolitical zones, NEXT learnt, will follow in the weeks ahead.

Before arriving at the candidature of the anti-corruption activist, our source said the group also considered former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari. But he was reportedly ruled out after some participants in the negotiations argued that Nigerians might be reluctant to vote for former military dictators believed to have brought Nigerians to its knees.

“There are those who also argued that Mr. Buhari is yet to, and may not embrace democratic tenets, being a former military ruler,” said a source who did not want to be named. “But the greatest factor against Buhari is that he is not sellable to Christians and to people in the South who still consider him a religious zealot.”

He said the team was already reaching out to the former head of state to drop his presidential ambition and support the candidature of Mr. Ribadu.

“Buhari is a good man. He has done his best for our country. But what we are saying is that it is time for him and his likes to allow fresh blood to take charge of our country. He should give others a chance.”