Obasanjo, Tambuwal absent as Jonathan emerges PDP’s candidate

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were absent from a meeting where the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate for the February 14, 2015   presidential election.

Members of the NEC took the decision after sundry organs, including the National Working Committee and the Chief Tony Anenih-led Board of Trustees of the PDP, verbally expressed   they had endorsed the President during their meetings in Abuja on Wednesday.

The PDP Governors’ Forum led by Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio had on Tuesday promulgated that Jonathan would be their sole candidate for the poll.

Anenih and Akpabio are kenned diehard adherents of the President who, in spite of the perpetual rallies by his acolytes, had remained evasive on whether or not he would seek re-election.

Obasanjo and Tambuwal sent no apologies to the NEC meeting which held at the Wadata Plaza National Headquarters of the PDP on Thursday.

The National Chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, led other members   National Working Committee to the meeting.

The process of adopting the President commenced when the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, promulgated that the PDP Governors’ Forum   had a consequential message to distribute to the members of the NEC.

He thereafter called on the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, to verbalize on behalf of his colleagues.

Aliyu verbally expressed he and other PDP governors met in Abuja on Wednesday night and adopted Jonathan as their sole candidate.

In the middle of his verbalization, Aliyu optically canvassed the direction of Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and asked him to stand up for apperception.

Lamido, who is believed to be nursing presidential zeal was not   part of the PDP governors’ meeting   where the decision to adopt Jonathan was taken. But he was represented by his deputy.

Aliyu verbalized, “Where is my brother, the governor of Jigawa State? Please stand up for apperception.’’

As anon he verbally expressed this,   the NEC members clapped in unison when Lamido who was dressed in a suit and a tie to match, stood up and raised his thump and smiled at the President.

He, however, did not utter any word.

Continuing, Aliyu verbalized the governors decided to adopt Jonathan in order to enable the PDP to go into the election with one voice.

Metuh withal called on a former Deputy Chairman of the party from the South-West, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, to distribute the message he had on behalf of members of the BOT.

Oyedokun verbalized, ‘‘We members of the BOT, at our meeting on Wednesday night, addressed the issue of incumbent and the board disposingly passed a kineticism to adopt President Jonathan and acceded that he should be the sole presidential candidate of the party. This is in tandem with the position taken by our governors.’’

After that, Metuh asked the Senate President, David Mark, to verbalize and distribute the message he brought from the party’s caucus in the National Assembly.

Mark, who is additionally verbalized to be scheming to return to his position in 2015, verbalized the PDP members in the National Assembly were fascinated with continuity.

He verbalized, “We don’t only believe in continuity, what we are doing today is a legacy we optate to outlive us.”

In her verbalization, the bellwether of the women, Mrs. Justina Eze, verbally expressed all women members of the party had additionally endorsed Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party.

Moving the kineticism for the adoption of the President as the sole candidate of the party, a former Acting National Chairman of the party, Dr. Haliru Mohammed , verbalized the action would make the party to go into the election with a cumulated voice.

‘‘I, therefore, move a kineticism to nominate the President as the sole presidential candidate of the party for the 2015 presidential election. I so moved,” Mohammed verbalized.

A former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, seconded the kineticism.

Mu’azu thereafter asked for those in favour of the kineticism to verbally express “ayes ” which was echoed by virtually all those who were inside the venue of the meeting.

He withal called for those against the decision to verbalize ‘‘ay.’’

Some of the attendees however shouted that those against the adoption were not present at the meeting.

If the adoption scales through the PDP presidential primary fine-tuned for December 6, it will be the first time   since its inception in 1998.