4 other PDP presidential aspirants ready to battle ex VP

With all the noise over Atiku’s decision to dump the APC and presumably flag off his 2019 presidential campaign from the platform of the opposition PDP, you’d think the PDP presidential ticket is Atiku’s for the taking—that all he needs to do is show up and be handed the PDP presidential ticket on a platter.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The two major political parties in the land (APC, PDP) have zoned the presidency to the north of Nigeria.

A few northern PDP politicians have been ‘showing their hand’ as 2019 draws ever so close. There’s one Southwest politician in the mix as well.

When Atiku finally joins the PDP to commence another presidential run, he’d have these guys to contend with (and there'll be more as we welcome a new year).

1. Alhaji Sule Lamido

This former Governor of Jigawa State commenced his 2019 presidential campaign long before Atiku decided he's had enough of the APC.

There have been social media footage of Lamido holding up a fist from the roof of a car; and saluting chanting crowds in his home State and elsewhere in the north.

Lamido has been aiming potshots at the APC and Buhari soon after the new governing party displaced the new opposition party at the center.

He’s PDP through and through and Atiku would have him to deal with first.

2. Ibrahim Shekarau

A few unnamed Governors on the PDP platform are already name-dropping this former Governor of Kano State as their preferred presidential choice.

Shekarau hasn’t publicly declared he’ll be running for president, but close friends and party members say he’s nursing that ambition and testing the waters from time to time.

3. Ayodele Fayose

With the PDP zoning its presidential ticket to the north of Nigeria, Ekiti State Governor Fayose stands no chance of emerging president any time soon.

However, he's declared he wants to run and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

Fayose is still a contender who'll have a say on whether his political party should hand Atiku the presidential ticket or not.

And Fayose can be a tough customer.

4. Ahmed Makarfi

He’s the caretaker chairman of the PDP whose job was steadying the ship when Ali Modu Sheriff attempted to drag the PDP down with him.

Former Kaduna Governor Makarfi is preferred by a few Governors within the PDP ranks to fly the party's flag in 2019, not least for his avuncular and decent leadership credentials.

One Governor told The Nation newspaper in confidence:

“Not all the PDP Governors have bought into the Atiku agenda, we are not united on him. If we have our way, some of us will go for Makarfi who has shown uncommon leadership in reuniting PDP. And those of us in this group are encouraging him to join the presidential race.

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“Some of our leaders also prefer Lamido or Shekarau. If we have any issue with Makarfi, it is about rumours on his health and we have conducted our research, the ex-Governor is as fit as a fiddle. It is all propaganda.

“As I am talking to you, we have not been fully consulted by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Atiku’s candidature.

“At the end of the day, we will follow the rule of law, the party’s constitution and go to the field to elect a presidential candidate. What if our members decide not to grant Atiku a waiver to contest the presidential primaries?

”He is a new member, he can as well queue like others.

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“Some of our leaders speak about Atiku as a political asset in the North but he was a distant third in the APC presidential primaries. We won’t be blind on our choice this time around. I think programmes and not personality should matter to PDP.”