THERE are strong political indications that build up to the 2015 presidential election has started in earnest with the political gladiators in alignment and realignments of forces and political platforms under which they intend to fight for different political positions that would be available in 2015.
It’s on this grounds that two political Nigerian strong men; former heads of state, Ibrahim Badimose Babangida and Olusegun Matthew Aremu met few months ago and purportedly endorsed the presidential candidature of the incumbent governor of Adamawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido for the 2015 presidential election under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, the (PDP).
Though both had denied the allegation including the alleged candidate himself. But the political dance steps of Lamido since the story broke out points to the direction of the speculation and fears of the Nigerian people.
However, the choice of who runs as Vice Presidential candidate with Lamido is trying to cause friction between the two military generals and former heads of state.
If available information before PSN is anything to go by, the news filtering in that the duo are not agreeing on a particular candidate is true. The dissenting voices are echoing aloud between the twosomes personalities who still want to remain relevant in the Nigerian polity.
It would recall that IBB ruled Nigerian for 9years before he was forced by the late Abacha to step aside in 1993 while OBJ ruled for 11 years. According to a reliable source in Owerri, Imo state capital, Obj is gunning for the incumbent governor of Anambra state while IBB has opted for the Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the action governor of Imo state.
The source hinted that Obj met with Peter Obi of Anambra state in Otta farm early this year and intimated him of his plan to make him the vice president to a Northern candidate in the 2015 presidential election.
In the meeting, Peter Obi was asked to go and start his homework but that he would first make sure that his party APGA, which is already swimming in crisis didn’t survive the crises.
Obj’s choice for Obi emanated by the former president’s hatred for APGA, which he feared might divide the country regionally; the same hatred he habour against ACN in the south-West geo- political zone of the country. Obi was said to have accepted every offer given to him by Obj with every sense of civility.
On the other hand, IBB has Rochas Okorocha’s as a better option and only one as of now who are suitable mate and companion to Lamido who is more elderly. Those in the know claimed that IBB’s choice of Okorocha was sealed in Owerri during Okorocha’s 50th birthday event weeks ago. It was gathered that Obj was invited to that occasion but he was conspicuously absent.
IBB choose Okorocha to fit into the stakeholders plan to shift the PDP presidential seat to the Northerners as a way to pacify the Boko Haram insurgency in the north and possibly allow normalcy to return to the polity. It was gathered that move was to give south-East the Vee Pee until 2023 when the power would go to south-east.
IBB had on his trip to Owerri, hordes of PDP big wigs in the northern states, governors of Kastina, Kaduna, Bauchi and Kano states to persuade Okorocha to run with Lamido; a step towards realizing his presidential ambition in 2023, when it would be the turn of Ibo. IBB’s argument for Okoroha was because of his clout in the North, south, west and east divide of the nation. It was learnt that Okorocha’s mother is from the North, particularly Plateau state, where he was born and bred up.
Okorocha’s Rochas Foundation College in all the zones of the country, for free education is one of the key factors that made the north see him as part of them.
According to those close to him, Okorocha speaks Hausa and Yoruba language fluently as if he was from the two regions. He has a lot of Hausa indigenes in all his companies across the globe. In Imo state, 25% of Northerners are appointed in office in the state.
“Those are the qualities that qualify him the right choice for Lamido”, Mr. Okafor Ndu, a PDP supporter in Owerri quipped.
Dennis Adikwuru, the former director of publicity for Okorocha’s 2003 presidential campaign organization said. “The Igbo nation is blessed with such a rare breed as Okorocha who is born of the Igbo tribe, grew up with the Hausa tribe, thrived in business with the Yoruba tribe and has traversed the over 250 ethnic nationalities of Nigeria”.
Meanwhile, the PDP Imo state has set machinery in motion to actualize the IBB vision of making Okorocha the running mate to Lamido. Just recently, the party stalwarts met in their meeting on Friday October 12, 2012 in the Imo capital. In that forum, the agenda was how to woo back party members who out of grievances left the party in anger, including Okorocha back to PDP in their build up to capture Imo state in 2015.
Chief Eze Duruiheoma (SAN), and Chairman of the Imo PDP said the essence of the meeting was not only to get the stand of members on the way forward but also to reconcile the party with its aggrieved members in the state.
According to him, the meeting was scheduled to extend an olive branch to their separated members and the way to bring them back. He said the Imo PDP was following the line of honour toed by their National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
It was gathered that during the meeting at the Okigwe Road Secretariat of the party in Owerri, some members spoke pointing out that Okorocha must be brought back into the party. It was further gathered that one Stan Dara, a lawmaker spoke extensively on how to woo Okorocha.
According to our source, he was alleged to have said that the PDP should catch on the crises situation in APGA to lure Okorocha out of the party to where he rightly belonged. That party, it was gathered agreed to set-up an ad-hoc committee to in their November mini-convention to look into the possibilities of bring their former members back into the party including Okorocha. Meanwhile, Obj and IBB are yet to settle on the possible Vee Pee for Lamido as the duo are still weighing the options of Obi and Okorocha.
- Courtesy: persecondnews.com