Ediong wrote!   Former President Obasanjo is working for VP Sambo’s 2015 presidential bid in order to dislodge President Jonathan – US The United States government yesterday linked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to a proposed presidential bid of Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo in 2015 in order to dislodge the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. It also claimed that the Presidency is watching the political activities of Sambo. This was stated in a report put out by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a research body established and funded by the US Congress, in its May 2013 report titled “Midterm Challenges in Nigeria: Elections, Parties and Regional Conflicts”. The report, authored by Professor John Paden, a foremost political scientist and an authority on the first Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, also asserted that only Jonathan’s decision on 2015 will determine the correct political position of northern Nigeria in 2014. He also listed possible candidates from the North that may contest the presidential election. Part of the report reads: “Obasanjo also appeared to be working with Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo (former governor of Kaduna dtate) for ‘scuttling Jonathan’s second term ambition in 2015.’ A spokesman for the presidency responded: ‘The Vice-President is under strict security watch by the Presidency.’ The spokesman added that the vice president might not be considered in the 2015 election should Jonathan succeed in winning the primary. “As further retribution, several Obasanjo stalwarts were sacked from the PDP National Working Committee. At this mid-term point between presidential elections, it is imperative to take stock of whether conflict resolution mechanisms are in place in the country as a whole, and within the two evolving major political parties, to forestall election violence. Political coalitions are crucial, but how these are designed and implemented may determine system stability or instability.” It added: “Three obvious political reactions became evident in the north within the broad reaches of the incumbent PDP political spectrum: (1) elders such as General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida welcomed the emergence of a two-party system, even hinting that he might support the APC; (2) PDP governors, led by Niger state governor Babangida Aliyu, announced that they had a sworn agreement with Jonathan that he would not run in 2015; and (3) a number of PDP governors and other party notables came under scrutiny as possible presidential material, often paired with dynamic southern PDP governors as possible vice presidential candidates. Every move and meeting among PDP notables became grist for press and media speculation. “Conspiracy theories abounded as to the possible Trojan horses planted in the APC by the PDP—so too did speculation that the APC might fracture once the presidential ticket was selected, since not all opposition regions would be satisfied.” On the North’s reaction in 2014, the USIP report said, “Nigeria is the ‘Giant of Africa,’ it is not ‘too big to fail.’ It may have thus far survived attempts to dismember the union—such as during the civil war and associated failed elections, military intrusions, and grassroots pogroms—but to stabilize the national system, lessons learned about party systems and elections will need to prevail. “Will the 2015 elections become a model for how a major petro state of enormous complexity can overcome the challenges of creating unity from diversity? The remaining question is whether President Jonathan will choose to run. If he does run, how will the north react? All signs point to his candidacy. But he has sworn to wait until 2014 to make his final decision. That may turn out to be a fateful fork in the road in terms of peaceful elections and democratic evolution.”
Posted on: Thu, 23 May 2013 15:32:19 +0000
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