Consensus candidate: We have not endorsed anybody - Northern Xtians

AS controversy continues to trail the consensus arrangement initiated by the Northern Political Elders Forum (NPLF), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), North-Central chapter, has disassociated itself from the alleged endorsement of the contraption by its northern chapter, saying that the chapter was expected to meet with aspirants from the geopolitical zone on Tuesday next week.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Jos, the North-Central chairman of CAN, Reverend Yakubu Pam, disclosed that presidential aspirants from the zone—former President Ibrahim Babangida, Mrs Serah Jibril, Governor Bukola Saraki—were expected to meet with the chapter on Tuesday next week over their aspirations.

Reverend Pam said he had met with his executive team over the purported endorsement of the consensus arrangement by the northern CAN, adding that the person who claimed to have represented the northern CAN spoke for himself, not the body he claimed to have represented.

“As far as we are concerned in the North-Central, we are not part of the decision, nobody discussed the issue with us before the pronouncement was made. At our level here, we are meeting with the presidential aspirants from this zone on Tuesday next week on their aspirations. The three of them are the former President Ibrahim Babangida, Governor Bukola Saraki and Mrs Serah Jibril,” he said.

The North-Central chairman, who said the primary concern of CAN was the unity of Nigeria, added that the interest of the body was not just for the Christians but also to have good leaders at all levels in the country.

In a related development, the senator representing Plateau Central, Senator Sati Gogwim, had stated that plans by some people in the North to produce a consensus aspirant against President Goodluck Jonathan was never a threat to the president.

The senator told the Nigerian Tribune that the likes of the NPLF leader, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, could not speak for the entire North because their emergence as leaders was not endorsed by the entire North, adding they were just a group of aggrieved people who simply wanted to take on President Jonathan for their selfish interest.

“Nobody is losing sleep over their planned consensus arrangement but I want people to know that Mallam Adamu Ciroma and others are not speaking for the North. We in the Middle Belt are not bothered because they did not recognise us as part of the North,” he said.

Senator Gogwim said if those who constituted themselves as the northern leaders actually were championing the cause of the entire North, they should come out for assessment to determine if they were credible to negotiate for the North.

He charged Nigerians to learn to appreciate those in positions of authority, adding that in the past few months of being in the saddle, President Jonathan had proved his worth and zeal to move the nation forward.

“Nigerians should give him a chance. He has demonstrated that he is capable of steering the affairs of this nation. The circumstances surrounding his emergence as president of this country is enough to convince all that the hand of God is upon him.”

ANPP Zones Presidency To The North.

After an exhaustive meeting that lasted all night, the national caucus of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), yesterday agreed to pick its presidential candidate in the 2011 elections from the northern part of the country. The caucus zoned the posts of the national chairman and secretary to the south and the north, respectively.

With the decisions, the race for the chairmanship of the largest opposition party in the country at tomorrow’s national convention in Abuja, is now open to the four aspirants from the southern part of the country. They are the first executive governor of Edo State, John Odigie-Oyegun (Edo); the incumbent national publicity secretary, Emma Eneukwu (Enugu); former national secretary, George Moghalu (Anambra) and billionaire businessman, Harry Akande (Oyo).

The two other aspirants from the north, namely Gambo Magaji (Gombe) and the national deputy chairman (north) Yusufu Musa (Plateau) are expected to withdraw from the race.

The meeting had been convened to streamline the number of aspirants for the chairmanship position ahead of the two-day convention. It was also necessitated by the agitation by some top northern members of the party as well as other groups, to who wanted to rezone the chairmanship seat to the north. Those at the meeting were the national chairman of the party, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and all the members of the national working committee, state chairmen of the party, members of the Board of Trustees, the leadership of the party in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

A source at the meeting said the decisions were near unanimous as only one person voted in support of the zoning of the chairmanship position to the north.

Oyegun In The Race

However, one of the aspirants and his supporters resisted the proposal and insisted on the status quo and he subsequently voted accordingly.

“Some people tried to insist that our party chairman should come from the north but it was not a popular proposal. However, at the end of the day, everybody voted for the retention of the position in the south and the secretary in the north and our presidential candidate will come from the north also,” our source said.

Mr Eneukwu, who is also the outgoing national publicity secretary of the party, confirmed the decision during a telephone interview with our reporter yesterday.

He, however, declined to give details of the resolutions at the meeting.

Mr Odigie-Oyegun was also cautious in his response, although the former Edo governor said he was still in the race and will not step down for anybody.

Since the birth of the ANPP in 1998, two of its substantive chairmen, Mahmud Waziri and Yusuf Ali came from the north while the other two, Don Etiebet and Mr Ume-Ezeoke were from the south.

On the other hand, its first presidential candidate, Olu Falae is a southerner while Muhammadu Buhari , a northerner was its candidate in 2003 and 2007. Mr Buhari had earlier this year defected to the newly-former Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) where he hopes to contest the 2011 presidential election.