... Daniel, Dickson, Obi, Iweala, Wike and Fayose makes VP list
Following the landslide victory of Alh Abubakar Atiku, GCON as the flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), information available to us reveal that the jostling for who will be his running-mate has reached fever-pitch.
Atiku, according to sources, has referred the question of who will be his running mate to party elders to decide. This, many believe, would serve to heal any wounds that may have arisen from his landslide victory over Gov Aminu Tambuwal who enjoyed the open support of Gov Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and delegates loyal to him.
There are many eminent PDP members across the country qualified for the role but discussions with top PDP apparatchiks at the venue of the just concluded Party National Convention in Port Harcourt reveal that the front runners for the position of Vice Presidential candidate are Chief Gbenga Daniel, Gov Nyesom Wike, Dr Peter Obi, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Gov Seriake Dickson and Gov Ayodele Fayose.
Chief Gbenga Daniel is the former Governor of Ogun State and the Director General of the Atiku Campaign Organization who was able to gather the delegates from the south west states, except Ekiti State delegates, to deliver block votes for Atiku at the primaries. He is believed to be more suited for the job as he should be able to reduce the votes to and the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south west states. He would also balance the influence of the current Vice President to President Buhari who is also from Ogun State.
Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State was the only Governor that openly supported Atiku and mobilized support from fellow PDP Governors, in direct opposition to people like Wike who was supporting Tambuwal, that led to Atiku’s recent victory as the Presidential Candidate of the PDP. Dickson has been a stabilizing factor in the Niger Delta and is widely accepted as a grassroots politician with strong ties with the Yorubas being that his grandmother was from Ogun State. His giant strides in various sectors in Bayelsa State continue to stand him in good stead as a purveyor of peace and development to the people in general.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the renowned Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy in President Goodluck Jonathan’s Government. She comes with immense experience and capacity together with a largely unblemished public service record. Though not a politician, her candidacy should put presidential hopefuls from the south east states at ease as she would not be competing with them to take over from Atiku at the end of his single term plan. She would also help to reel in the female sympathetic votes.
Gov Nyesom Wike is arguably the latter day leader of the PDP who has fought to steady the course of the party in the last turbulent years after the loss of the presidency to the APC. Though he did not support Atiku in the primaries, pundits say that his control of the party systems through his appointed Chairman- Chief Uche Secondus - is very strong.
Gov Ayodele Fayose is the current Governor of Ekiti State who stepped down from the presidential primaries race ostensibly to support Tambuwal. Despite the fact that his candidate lost the governorship elections to the APC candidate, pundits say he still commands a lot of support in the south west states. Fayose, though considered a rabble rouser by a cross section of the society for his many verbal engagements, should therefore help the PDP garner votes in the south west states as Vice Presidential Candidate to Atiku.
Last but not the least is Dr Peter Obi. He is the immediate very successful governor of Anambra State. Obi brings economic sagacity and an unblemished public service record to the table but may raise fears from other possible successors to Atiku at the end of the single term as being Vice President would put him in pole position to take over.
However the odds appear to favour Gov Dickson for several reasons. He is a loyal party man and level headed politician who has been found more on the side of peace building, chairing many of the PDP reconciliation committees since 2013 when the crisis that led to the party's loss of the last general elections started.
Given the fractious state of the nation, Alhaji Atiku would need someone who can move across the across sensitive ethnic and regional lines to make peace. Dickson has made a success of calming militancy in Bayelsa State and has successfully hosted many times over leaders from the west and the north despite previous resentments against such leaders in Bayelsa.
Politically, Gov Dickson like Alh Atiku believes in the restructuring of the country and has carried the campaign like Atiku to other parts of the country.
As a strong associate of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the choice of Dickson can help heal the wounds that came with the defeat of the PDP in 2015 when Atiku defected with some party leaders to the APC. Coming from the South-South that only recently produced the President, it is not likely that a Dickson vice-presidency will succumb to succession intrigues that may create a wedge between a President and him. The PDP even has a strong power rotation principle that will even take care of that.
Dickson has a wide reach among federal legislators in Abuja where he once served in the House of Representatives. Such a bridge is needed to smoothen the acrimonious relationship between the federal executive and the National Assembly that had often stalled government business in the past.
His security background, being a former police officer, would stand him in good stead to help find genuine solutions to the plethora of security issues currently bedevilling the country.
It won't be a surprise if the lot eventually falls on the Bayelsa State governor.
No comments:
Post a Comment