How northern elders helped Saraki, Mohammed edge Tambuwal out of PDP consensus race

While three of them vowed to abide by consensus candidacy, Former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State have been endorsed by the Northern Elders’ Forum.

Sokoto Gov. Aminu Tambuwal is now left in the dust.

He has yet to speak official since NEF took the decision.

According to Professor Ango Abdullahi, head of the committee which carried out three-phase screening from where Saraki and Mohammed emerged, the exercise was thorough.

In the report of the committee, Saraki and Mohammed had 10 votes each, while Tambuwal trailed with seven votes, followed by Hayatudeen, who had five votes.

According to a report by the Daily Trust, one of the elders reportedly deferred his votes on grounds of continuing consultations with traditional rulers and other major stakeholders.

Two members were said not to have cast their second ballots bringing the total to 32 votes casted out of 36, the hewspapaer reported.

Abdullahi said his committee submitted a report to former Military President Ibrahim Babangida who accepted and approved it.

“In the end, resort was made to the historical antecedents of the PDP with regards to previous northern aspirations and the following conclusion was reached: a. That the North West has had the opportunity of contesting and even forming government in 2007.

“In 2011 a consensus was made among the four northern candidates, Which North East got the slot but lost at the primaries. In 2019, it got the slot again though the party could not form the government. c. The North Central has not had a single opportunity to get the PDP ticket since the inception of the current fourth republic

“It was resolved that a leading aspirant from the North Central and one from the North East are to be presented as northern presidential candidates. The two would in turn be required to make further concessions so that in the end one of them would be presented as the consensus candidate, out of the four that presented themselves from the North.”

The two aspirants chosen by the elders should work together and decide on which of them would be the consensus candidate, Ango said.