Anxiety Grips PDP Over 13 Presidential Aspirants

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The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be at the crossroads over what to do with the high number of aspirants jostling for the party’s presidential ticket.

So far, 13 aspirants have indicated interest in the ticket and there were indications at the weekend that the number may increase in the days ahead.

Those in the race are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwabo; President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki; former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi; and a former Special Duties Minister, Tanimu Turaki.


Others are a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; another former Kano Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau; former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; a former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang; an industrialist, Dr. Baba Datti Ahmed; and one Ahmed Buhari

It was gathered that several meetings the leadership of the party held with the aspirants seeking the possibility of pruning down the number have so far proved futile.

It was also learnt that fears expressed by the leadership of the party over the unwieldy number of the aspirants were said to have been waved the contestants, as they were all said to have insisted on contesting.

Fearing recriminations that the outcome of the primaries might engender, the party is said to be rallying the aspirants to sign an undertaking to accept and embrace the eventual winner.

Similarly, the party is also working on them to agree to join the eventual winner in the electioneering, with a proviso that none of them would defect from the PDP zone on account of losing the primaries, The Nation reports.