Politics

PDP Ticket: Crack Over Northern Consensus Widens As Aspirants Insist On Primary

Published

4 years ago

April 24, 2022

Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi

The crack created by the selection of the former Senate president, Bukola Saraki and Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, as consensus candidates from the North on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has widened.

Our correspondents report that the outcome of the report which favoured Mohammed and Saraki against Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen had generated uproar as they rejected the arrangement.

Professor Ango Abdullahi on Friday in Minna, Niger State, announced the endorsement of Saraki and Mohammed as the northern consensus candidates of the PDP.

Prof. Abdullahi, who is the Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), said the two aspirants chosen should work together and decide on which of them would be the consensus candidate.

However, contrary to reports in the media that the selection of Saraki and Mohammed was the position of NEF, Daily Trust gathered from reliable sources that the consensus report, which was signed by Prof. Ango, was done in his personal capacity as an elder statesman.

“Without prejudice to the efforts he made as an elder statesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi did not sign the document on behalf of the Northern Elders Forum. As you can see, the outcome was not printed on NEF’s letter headed paper and at the end of it, he described himself as Magajin Rafin Zazzau,” one of our sources said.

Prof. Ango also corroborated this in a telephone interview last night when he said the endorsement was not on behalf of NEF.

Consensus dead on arrival

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the consensus arrangement has since collapsed as all the participants except Saraki and Mohammed, have distanced themselves from it, insisting that they will slug it out at the primary election slated for May 28 and 29, 2022.

Promoters of the consensus had gone across the country to secure the buy-in of the party’s stakeholders. However, hours after Ango’s announcement, Tambuwal rejected the endorsement.

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Tambuwal, in a statement by his campaign office, noted that the arrangement had failed and he was prepared for a primary election.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Gov Tambuwal has submitted his presidential nomination forms; and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has collapsed, he will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primary election,” his campaign office stated.

Similarly, Hayatu-Deen told our correspondent yesterday that the consensus arrangement collapsed 48 hours before Ango Abdullahi’s announcement.

In a phone interview, the former chief executive officer of the FSB International Bank said at their last meeting that they all agreed to jettison the consensus arrangement and slug it out at the primary.

“Four of us at a meeting on Wednesday agreed that the arrangement was dead and buried. Saraki, Mohammed, Tambuwal and I agreed that we would not proceed with it,” he said.

Aside from the four and even though all those behind the consensus move are from the North, the leading opposition party has other aspirants, including Atiku Abubakar (Adamawa) and who is also from the North; Anyim Pius Anyim (Ebonyi), Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom).

Others are Peter Obi (Anambra), Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Nwachukwu Anakwenze (Anambra), Dele Momodu (Edo), Sam Ohuabunwa (Imo), Cosmos Ndukwe (Abia), Charles Ugwu (Enugu), Chikwendu Kalu (Abia) and Oliver Tareila Diana.

When contacted through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said his quest was to become a candidate for Nigerians.

Ibe said, “His long-time aspiration, not just for 2023, has been to be the candidate of Nigeria for all Nigerians. This reinforces his words in his declaration.”

Quoting Atiku’s during the declaration, Ibe said, “Throughout my life, I have never looked at Nigerians as divided people. In my eyes, all Nigerians are the same. When I see you, I don’t see Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Fulani, northerner or southerner. When I see you I only see a Nigerian, and I expect the best from you.”

Another source said Atiku was right from the beginning not happy with the approach by the four PDP aspirants from the North.

“It appeared from the onset that they ganged up against him thinking that when they coalesce into a force and produce one candidate, they would tackle him at the primaries.

“However, as you can see they could not agree among themselves because each one of them wants to be the preferred choice,” the source said.

My intervention not on behalf of Northern Elders Forum – Prof Ango

Contacted last night to clear the controversy on whether the news relating to the selection of Saraki and Mohammed was the position of Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango said, “No. There was a press statement printed and issued to journalists in Minna yesterday. If you are in possession of that press release, I think that is the summary of the situation as it is now. Clearly you probably just have seen some press statements by some of the aspirants themselves in which Bauchi (governor) spoke, Tambuwal also spoke. They were the aspirants we thought were heading for a consensus on PDP platform especially from the northern Nigeria.

“They came together and reached us and say they are working together and they are hoping that by the time they finished their discussions, talks and consultations they would come and tell us one of them is their consensus candidate.

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“Unfortunately, they have not been able to succeed in arriving at that final position which they hoped they could. But then in failing to do so, they then requested the elders to pick one from them. And we thought it was too heavy for us to do that during a very short notice and time and the elder that they had approached, our former President Babangida suggested and we all agreed that we should do more consultation, if they had not been able to do it themselves.

“We have to help them but we have to do more consultation. And that is the consultation that we tried to do within the shortest possible time and that gave us an assessment of their rankings, the four of them in terms of their rankings and we told them what we found and that is of course all four cannot be the same. In this case, the two (Saraki and Mohammed) happened to be at par with each other and we decided that they should carry on with their consultation we see how far they can go.”

Asked if the conclusion was behalf of Northern Elders Forum or PDP Elders Forum, Prof. Ango said, “I am not PDP and also as I told somebody yesterday, I did not sign that statement on behalf of Northern Elders Forum because even in Northern Elders Forum we have a position.

“But the Northern elders position has always been very clear that there should be no zoning and we should be allowed all over the country to contest and that is our position and we also hold the view that a good candidate from the northern part of the country would eventually contest without prejudice to other good candidates from other parts of the country; but we disown zoning, no questions about that. There should not be any controversy,” he said.

When told that it appeared the consensus efforts had collapsed, the elder statesman said, “We told them that consensus is a continued process; they can relook at themselves and look at others, those who are not favoured by what we did can go and contest,” he said.

NEF not involved

A source within the PDP said yesterday that the northern elders under the auspices of (NEF) were not involved in the process as it was purely a PDP affair as it was former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida who invited Prof. Ango to design a process that will lead to the emergence of any of the four aspirants as a consensus candidate.

Giving further insight, he said, “General Babangida and Ango Abdullahi had advised the four aspirants to go and select a consensus among them but after four weeks, they could not and they came back and asked them to select a consensus candidate for them, that was how Ango Abdullahi became involved.”

Another source within the NEF corroborated this saying the report was not the decision of the NEF.

“NEF as a forum was never directly involved in this, apparently, the convener of NEF is a founding member of the PDP and the contestants themselves submitted themselves to the process which President Babangida asked Prof. Ango Abdullahi to handle,” he said.

Position injurious, personal opinion – Lamido

A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has faulted the endorsement of the NEF, describing it as their personal opinion.

Lamido, a founding member of the PDP, in a statement he signed, noted that the position of the northern elders was not only injurious to the North but equally injurious to northern aspirants.

Daily Trust on Sunday could not establish whether Lamido was aware that NEF members said they were not part of the deal.

He said in his statement, “Having widely consulted party leaders across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is hereby stated to our teeming party members and the general public that what is reported in the media is only the personal opinion of those who issued the statement and not the position of PDP members in the North.

“Discussions are ongoing with all the aspirants in our party, with a view to having a national consensus if possible, or at least working towards having a smooth, acrimony-free national convention,” he said.

Stakeholders meet tomorrow

An emergency meeting of the stakeholders of the party from the North has been convened, it was gathered. The meeting will hold tomorrow in Abuja.

The meeting, it was gathered, would be attended by stakeholders across the 19 northern states to review the development.

A leader of the party from the North East said at the end of the meeting that they would take a position on the matter.

This is just as the aspirants and their supporters are awaiting the convocation of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to review the recommendation of the committee headed by the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom.

On April 1, this paper reported that the zoning committee recommended that the race be made open to all the aspirants.

DAILY TRUST

Related Topics:aspirants Featured Northern Consensus primary

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Deregistration: Court adjourns hearing on ADC, four other political parties’ appeal

Published

10 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Trends Admin

Deregistration: Court adjourns hearing on ADC, four other political parties’ appeal

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned until Tuesday, July 14, 2026, the hearing of an appeal challenging the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The appellate court granted the adjournment after lawyers representing the parties informed the court that although some legal processes had been filed and served, they were yet to receive and respond to all outstanding briefs necessary for the hearing of the appeal.

The appeal seeks to overturn a judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the five political parties over their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral performance.

When the matter came up on Monday before a three-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed, counsel for all parties jointly requested more time to complete the exchange of legal documents.

The lawyers explained that they had filed and served some of their processes but were still awaiting response briefs from other parties before the substantive hearing could proceed.

After listening to the applications, the appellate court granted the request and fixed July 14 for hearing.

The court also directed all parties to ensure that every outstanding brief of argument is filed and served before the adjourned date to avoid further delays and enable the appeal to proceed on its merits.

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The latest adjournment follows an earlier postponement from June 25 to July 7, which was granted after counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), informed the court that the record of appeal and the certified copy of the Federal High Court judgment had only recently been transmitted to the Court of Appeal.

According to the senior advocate, the transmission of the court records was necessary before parties could prepare, file and exchange their respective briefs of argument.

None of the parties opposed the request for an adjournment at the time, prompting the appellate court to grant additional time for the completion of the legal processes.

The legal dispute originated from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Accord Party, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party.

Justice Lifu held that the affected political parties failed to satisfy the constitutional threshold stipulated under Section 225 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding electoral performance in previous general elections.

The trial court ruled that the parties did not secure the minimum constitutional requirements to remain registered political parties and consequently directed INEC to remove them from its register.

The judgment further restrained the electoral commission from recognising the affected parties, accepting candidates nominated by them or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Lifu also ordered the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria after upholding a suit instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).

However, the ruling immediately generated legal challenges after the affected parties argued that the Federal High Court proceeded to deliver its judgment despite an earlier order of the Court of Appeal directing the trial court to stay proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal already before the appellate court.

In an earlier unanimous ruling, the Court of Appeal strongly criticised the action of the lower court, describing it as a breach of judicial hierarchy and constitutional procedure.

Justice Abubakar Mohammed observed that once a superior court issues an order, lower courts are constitutionally bound to comply with it until it is set aside.

He stressed that the appellate court has a duty to preserve the integrity of the judicial process and ensure obedience to its orders.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered a stay of execution of Justice Lifu’s judgment pending the determination of the substantive appeal.

The decision effectively suspended the enforcement of the deregistration order, allowing the ADC, Accord Party, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party to retain their legal status until the appeal is finally determined.

The outcome of the appeal is expected to have significant implications for Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly following recent political realignments involving opposition parties.

The ADC, which has recently attracted several prominent opposition politicians, is widely regarded as one of the parties that could play a major role in the build-up to the next presidential election.

The Court of Appeal is expected to begin substantive hearing of the appeal on July 14, provided all parties comply with its directive to file and exchange all outstanding briefs before the adjourned date.

Deregistration: Court adjourns hearing on ADC, four other political parties’ appeal

Politics

Why Peter Obi cannot become Nigeria’s president in 2027 — Ali Modu Sheriff

Published

11 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Trends Admin

Why Peter Obi cannot become Nigeria’s president in 2027 — Ali Modu Sheriff

Former Borno State governor and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has explained why he believes Peter Obi will struggle to win Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, arguing that the former Anambra State governor lacks the broad national support needed to secure victory.

Sheriff made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, where he also defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, praised the removal of fuel subsidy, and urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to respect the principle of power rotation by shelving any presidential ambition until after 2031.

His comments come amid growing political realignments ahead of the January 2027 general election, with Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Atiku of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) widely seen as leading contenders for Nigeria’s highest office.

Sheriff said he was convinced that Peter Obi would struggle to win substantial support across Northern Nigeria, insisting that the region would play a decisive role in determining the outcome of the election.

According to him, Obi has repeatedly criticised President Tinubu’s administration but has failed to publicly condemn the activities of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which Sheriff accused of pursuing Nigeria’s disintegration.

“Peter Obi never condemned, up till today, those in Eastern Nigeria who wanted to divide the country and called for sit-at-home. I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi. They have known better now,” Sheriff said.

The former governor also alleged that Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State created resentment among many Northerners, claiming this would affect his electoral prospects in the region.

Sheriff further claimed that some political stakeholders in Kano had expressed reservations about supporting any presidential ticket involving Obi. These are allegations made by Sheriff during the interview and have not been independently verified.

The APC chieftain also questioned Obi’s movement across different political parties, arguing that politicians seeking Nigeria’s presidency should demonstrate consistency and commitment to national unity rather than pursue what he described as sectional political interests.

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He maintained that anyone aspiring to lead Nigeria must build trust across all regions, religions and ethnic groups, stressing that the country’s diversity requires inclusive leadership and broad-based political alliances.

Responding to recent criticisms of President Tinubu by Obi over insecurity and economic hardship, Sheriff defended the administration’s policies.

He described the removal of fuel subsidy as one of the most important economic decisions taken by the current government, arguing that it prevented Nigeria from facing severe fiscal challenges.

According to Sheriff, the policy has significantly increased monthly allocations to state governments, giving governors more resources to invest in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture and other developmental projects.

He noted that some states now receive monthly allocations running into tens of billions of naira, compared with what many states received over several years before the subsidy removal.

On insecurity, Sheriff acknowledged that security remains a constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government but argued that state governments also have important roles to play.

He said governors, local government authorities, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community stakeholders must work together with federal security agencies to tackle insecurity effectively.

According to him, Nigeria’s security challenges predate the Tinubu administration and should not be blamed solely on the President.

Sheriff also commented on the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, describing him as qualified to lead Nigeria but insisting that the country should continue to observe the informal principle of rotating the presidency between the North and the South.

He argued that following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, the South should be allowed to complete another eight years before power returns to the North.

“Atiku Abubakar is eminently qualified to be president, but this is not the North’s turn,” Sheriff said.

Expressing confidence in the ruling party, Sheriff said the APC would intensify its mobilisation efforts to secure President Tinubu’s re-election.

He described democracy as “a game of numbers” and said the ruling party would not take victory for granted despite its confidence.

Sheriff added that he enjoys regular access to President Tinubu and would continue to offer what he considers sincere advice whenever necessary.

Sheriff’s comments are expected to generate fresh debate within Nigeria’s political landscape as parties continue consultations, coalition talks and grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.

While his remarks reflect his personal assessment of the race, they also highlight the key issues likely to shape political discourse in the coming months, including national unity, security, economic reforms, regional support and the principle of power rotation.

As of the time of filing this report, neither Peter Obi nor the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had issued an official response to Sheriff’s remarks.

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Why Peter Obi cannot become Nigeria’s president in 2027 — Ali Modu Sheriff

Politics

Sokoto: 2023 PDP governorship candidate defects to APC

Published

18 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Trends Admin

Sokoto: 2023 PDP governorship candidate defects to APC

The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Malam Sa’idu Umar Ubandoma, has officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), attributing his decision to the leadership of Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and the performance of Governor Ahmed Aliyu.

The high-profile defection is widely seen as a significant boost for the APC in Sokoto and another major political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections, as parties continue to reposition themselves across the country.

Ubandoma, a former Commissioner for Finance and Secretary to the Sokoto State Government under former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, was formally received into the APC by Senator Wamakko at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by Wamakko’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bashar Abubakar.

Welcoming the former opposition governorship candidate into the APC, Wamakko described the defection as evidence of the party’s growing acceptance among political stakeholders and residents of Sokoto State.

According to the former governor, the decision by prominent political figures to join the APC reflects increasing confidence in the party’s leadership and commitment to the development of the state.

“This defection is a significant boost to our party and a clear demonstration of the confidence that political leaders continue to have in the APC’s leadership and development agenda,” Wamakko said.
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He assured Ubandoma and his supporters of fairness, inclusion and equal opportunities within the ruling party, stressing that the APC remains open to every citizen committed to promoting peace, unity and sustainable development in Sokoto State.

“The APC is a home for all well-meaning citizens who are genuinely committed to the unity, peace and development of Sokoto State. You and your supporters will enjoy a warm reception and equal opportunities within the party,” he added.

Explaining why he left the PDP, Ubandoma said he was impressed by Senator Wamakko’s political maturity, inclusive leadership style and the developmental projects being executed by Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s administration.

According to him, the government’s investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, rural development and social welfare have demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of residents across the state.

“I was inspired by the quality of leadership and political maturity demonstrated by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, as well as the remarkable performance of Governor Ahmed Aliyu in delivering people-oriented projects across Sokoto State,” he said.

Ubandoma maintained that the administration’s achievements across key sectors convinced him that the APC offers the most credible platform to sustain development, economic growth and prosperity in Sokoto State.

“The achievements recorded across critical sectors convinced me that the APC remains the most credible platform to sustain the development and prosperity of Sokoto State,” he stated.

Ubandoma contested the 2023 Sokoto State governorship election on the platform of the PDP before later aligning with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following internal disagreements within the opposition party. He is regarded as one of the prominent political associates of former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, making his latest move one of the most notable political developments in the state in recent months.

Political observers believe the defection could strengthen the APC’s influence in Sokoto ahead of the 2027 elections while further weakening the opposition’s political structure in the state.

The development also reflects the growing wave of defections and political realignments across Nigeria, with several politicians changing party affiliations as preparations gradually gather momentum for the next electoral cycle.

Analysts say such movements are expected to shape alliances, determine party strategies and influence electoral calculations as political parties intensify efforts to consolidate their support base before the 2027 general elections.

Sokoto: 2023 PDP governorship candidate defects to APC