The North Widens Its Search
Despite the debatable charges, Lamido’s hold on the Talakawas does not seem to abate, such that his supporters believe that he is the man to eat into the vote bank of President Buhari if he gets the PDP ticket. Senator Ahmed Makarfi
UST like Lamido, the former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi was speculated as the favoured pick for the 2007 Presidential ticket of PDP. But, extraneous political consideration compelled the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to settle for Umaru Musa Yar’adua, while Makarfi sought and won the election into Kaduna North Senatorial seat.
Yet, when in May 2010 President Yar’adua kicked the bucket, the popular expectation was that President Jonathan would pick Makarfi to fill the position of Vice President that became vacant upon his ascendance.
It must have been on account of his political pedigree that at the height of estrangement of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman of PDP that was selected as the chairman of the national caretaker committee.
That rich background of service to party and cause of peace and conflict resolution make up his bag of positive qualities recommending Makarfi for consideration for the Presidential ticket.
Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa
S former governor of Sokoto State, Bafarawa was known to have groomed a lot of young politicians in the state, including Senator Aliu Magatakarda Wamakko, who went ahead from being his deputy to serving two terms as governor.
Bafarawa left the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in quiet protest of the party’s decision to align with the ruling PDP in a government of national unity. Alongside some like-minded politicians, Bafarawa formed the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), upon which platform he contested the Presidential election.
Like Mallam Shekarau, Bafarawa, whose party the DPP was involved in the merger arrangement to birth APC, decided to defect to PDP when APC insisted that serving PDP governors should purchase the party structures in their respective states.
The political calculation favoring Bafarawa is that if he flies a Presidential flag in 2019, he might split Buhari’s crowd.
Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso
ENATOR Kwankwaso, like Lamido, is one of the political loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2015 Kwankwaso became the enfant terrible of PDP when he took it upon himself to battle President Jonathan for his interest in a second term, insisting that power must return to the north.
It was perhaps due to his vociferous clamour to return to the north that when he contested the APC presidential ticket, he came second to President Buhari. Emboldened by that good showing, Kwankwaso, who is currently representing Kano Central in the Senate believes he has very bright chances to become President in 2019.
He has a fanatical following of supporters, especially under his Kwankwasiyya movement. Shortly after the 2015 election, Kwankwaso fell out with his political protégé, the incumbent governor of Kano, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, whom he single handedly imposed on the state.
Destabilised by the fight for control of Kano politics and President Buhari’s expressed interest in a second term, Kwankwaso has become a scout for party platform to ventilate his ambition.
JAS