PDP Says Only Jonathan Will Decide Sambo’s Fate

The National leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, declared that there would be no automatic tickets for governors, members of the National Assembly and other persons vying for the tickets of the party ahead 2015 elections.

To this end, the party read riot act to those challenging the decision of its National Executive Committee (NEC), declaring President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate of the party, stressing that it was only President Jonathan who could decide who his running mate would be in the coming election.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, at a press conference in Abuja, on Sunday, said automatic tickets for governors and legislators of the party could only be approved by the NEC, stressing that its endorsement of Jonathan did not apply to governors and other political office holders seeking re-election.

According to Metuh, “the NEC of the PDP, besides national convention, is the highest decision making organ of the party. And it is, therefore, only the national caucus and executive that can handle such decisions.”

On the planned media tour of the party’s achievements in the last 15 years, Metuh stated that the opposition had mounted a negative campaign asking what the PDP had done in the last 15 years.

He added that the tour “will recover our projects claimed by the opposition and return the credit to the PDP in states formerly controlled by the PDP, such as Edo, Rivers, Nasarawa, Kano, Sokoto, Kwara, among others.”

Meanwhile, it emerged at the weekend that the decision of the governors on the platform of PDP and other stakeholders of the party to adopt President Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party was informed by what is described as “enlightened self interest among the second term governors.”

Sources close to the party told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that contrary to reports that the president had entered into a deal with the governors, ahead the NEC meeting of last week Thursday, no deal was brokered to facilitate the presidential endorsement.

It was learnt that the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF), led by the Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, had earlier resolved to deliver the presidential ticket to Jonathan.

It was gathered that the governors concluded that President Jonathan would easily coast home to victory, even if he had opponents.

A source said they decided to own the process of Jonathan’s emergence by seizing the initiative and calling for his endorsement at a meeting in Abuja.

According to a source, the governors had reasoned that by endorsing Jonathan, they would then have opportunity to ask the president to allow them pick their successors in their various states.

“By taking away the stress of a rigorous primaries from the president, the governors believed that they will be in a position to ask the party to allow them produce their successors. While those eyeing Senate seats will also be guaranteed,” a source said in Abuja.

The source stated that contrary to media reports, there was no deal regarding whether or not the president would prevent the anti-grant agencies from investigating any of the outgoing governors.

“Recall that the issue of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti- graft agencies was publicly raised during the G7 uprising, which eventually led to the defection of five governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The demands of the G5 governors was that the president should give them commitment that they would henceforth be shielded from EFCC investigation. This proposal was rejected by the president. The same cannot be raised by the incumbent PDP governors, who saw no reason in the request by the G5 last year,” another source said.

It was gathered that not all the governors who intended to contest the Senate seat would be so allowed, in view of the fact that some of them were seeking to replace experienced senators, seen to have played stabilising roles in the polity in recent past.

A source, however, said the governors believed that a bird in hand was worth more than nine in the bush, adding that the outgoing governors were of the belief that it would be easier to get Senate seats, as well as fix their successors if Jonathan was granted the right of presidential ticket.