The 2019 presidential election is just about four months away and
various political parties have been working round the clock to present a
candidate that will challenge President Muhammadu Buhari during the
polls. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is at the forefront of this.
On Saturday, the party will hold its presidential primary election
in Port Harcourt, Rivers state. Determined to return to power in 2019,
the PDP would have to choose its presidential candidate from a list of
12 presidential aspirants.
Who are the aspirants and what do they stand for?
ATIKU ABUBAKAR
Former President Atiku Abubakar Abubakar is running for president
for the fourth time, having contested in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Since he
left office as vice-president in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration,
Abubakar has been actively involved in politics although on different
political platforms, leaving the PDP only to return there in 2017.
No doubt one of the most prominent figures in the race, Atiku was
also a founding member of the PDP and is seen as one of the party’s
biggest financiers. One of Abubakar’s priorities if elected president,
according to him, would be restructuring the country. He is aged 71.
BUKOLA SARAKI
Call him Nigeria’s Francis Underwood – from popular American series
‘House of Cards’ – and you may not be far from the truth. Smart,
ambitious and dogged, Senate President Bukola Saraki is one of those who
makes the presidential race a close contest. He declared to join the
race after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC) amid a running
battle with the APC-led federal government.
A two-time governor, Saraki’s emergence as senate president remains
a mystery to many, especially his party which at the time was rooting
for another candidate in the person of Ahmad Lawan, incumbent senate
leader. Whether the politics surrounding that incident will also play
out at the PDP primary or not, only time can tell. At 55, he is one of
the youngest in the race.
AMINU TAMBUWAL
Aminu Tambuwal is the current governor of Sokoto state and was
speaker of the house of representatives between 2011 and 2015. He was
elected speaker on the platform of PDP but defected to APC in 2014. He
later won the governorship ticket of the APC and defeated the PDP
candidate in the 2015 election, only to return to the PDP a few months
ago.
His first experience in legislative proceedings was in 1999, as a
personal assistant on legislative affairs to Abdullahi Wali, the then
senate leader. Tambuwal has said if elected president, part of his
agenda would be to address the seeming lack of transparency in the
Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He is 52 and is one of
the youngest among the PDP presidential aspirants.
RABIU MUSA KWANKWASO
A two-time governor of Kano state and senator representing Kano
central senatorial district, Kwankwaso is another bigwig in the PDP
seeking to unseat Buhari in 2019. With a huge fan base in Kano
engineered by the Kwankwasiya movement, Kwankwaso was one of those that
formed the APC and his impact in politics in the north is not in doubt.
Just like some of the other aspirants, the senator recently
defected from the APC to the PDP. During his presidential declaration,
he harped on education as one of his core mandates if elected president.
“We believe that education is the cornerstone of any development and
nation-building. Education shall be a cardinal point of our
administration,” he had said. The senator is aged 61.
SULE LAMIDO
Lamido was elected governor of Jigawa in 2007 and got re-elected in
2015. Before serving as governor, he had served as Nigeria’s foreign
affairs minister between 1999 and 2003, under Obasanjo. Interestingly,
he also co-founded the party alongside the likes of Atiku, giving him
some edge over “new entrants” like Saraki.
In one of his presidential rallies held in Jigawa, he had said:
“During my time as foreign affairs minister, I was known all over the
world; while my track record as former governor of eight years has
raised me above Buhari.”
The former governor and his two sons are facing trial by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud. He
is aged 70.
IBRAHIM DANKWAMBO
Ibrahim Dankwambo is currently serving his second term as governor
of Gombe state. Before assuming office in 2011, he had served as
accountant-general of the federation and is believed to be one of the
leading technocrats of northern extraction.
The governor is seen to be performing especially in the area of
infrastructural development and although with not so many years in
politics, he is intent on winning the PDP’s presidential ticket. He is
aged 56.
KABIRU TURAKI
A senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kabiru Turaki served under
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a minister of special duties and
inter-governmental affairs as well as supervising minister, ministry of
labour and productivity.
He had also served as chairman, Nigerian Copyrights Commission
(NCC) and is currently the chairman of PDP former ministers’ forum.
As minister, he was directly involved in seeking a solution to the
Boko Haram insurgency when he chaired the presidential committee on
dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the north.
Turaki believes he has what it takes to address the nation’s security challenges and fix the economy. He is aged 61.
ATTAHIRU BAFARAWA
Attahiru Bafarawa is another former governor seeking to unseat
Buhari on the platform of the PDP. He was a two-time governor of Sokoto
state from 1999 to 2007 and as far back as 1979, ran to become a member
of the house of representatives but failed.
Bafarawa founded the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and became its presidential candidate at the 2007 presidential election.
He is one of those to look out for during the primaries. He had
earlier said he will give priority to the south-east if he wins in 2019.
He is 63.
DATTI BABA-AHMED
Formerly of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Datti Baba-Ahmed
defeated Ahmed Makarfi, former governor of Kaduna, and one of the
notable presidential aspirants, in the 2011 elections, to emerge senator
representing Kaduna north senatorial zone.
He started his political career with his election into the house of
representatives in 2003, representing Zaria federal constituency.
Baba-Ahmed believes that if he emerges the PDP flag bearer for 2019, Buhari would be forced to drop his second term ambition.
Defeating a former governor of Kaduna says a lot about his
popularity. He is aged 46. According to his official website, he’s the
youngest of the PDP presidential aspirants.
AHMED MAKARFI
A two-time governor of Kaduna state between 1999 and 2007, Ahmed
Makarfi has also served as senator representing Kaduna north senatorial
zone, from the time he left office up until 2011 when he lost to
Baba-Ahmed.
In 2016, Makarfi emerged chairman of the PDP national caretaker
committee after the party’s national convention was cancelled, leading
to the dissolution of the Ali Modu Sheriff-led national working
committee.
A subsequent leadership tussle between Makarfi and Sheriff was
finally brought to an end in 2017 when the supreme court ruled that he
is the authentic chairman of the party.
Makarfi believes no other presidential aspirant in the PDP has his pedigree. He is aged 62.
JONAH JANG
Another former governor in the race, Jonah Jang led Plateau from
2007 to 2015 before he was elected into the senate to represent Plateau
north senatorial district.
Jang believes “it is time” for the Middle Belt to rule Nigeria and
had said if elected, fighting corruption would be his priority.
Interestingly, the senator is currently facing corruption trial on a
12-count charge of allegedly diverting N6.3 billion while he was in
office, an allegation he has denied.
He believes that “if you want to stop corruption, it is not by
arresting people here and there” as “there is a route where this
corruption comes from.” He is aged 74.
DAVID MARK
David Mark served as senate president from 2007 to 2015 and has the
record of being Nigeria’s longest serving senator, having been in the
upper legislative chamber since 1999.
He had retired as a brigadier general in the Nigerian army before joining politics in 1998.
His popularity as a former number three citizen is not in doubt and
he is perhaps, one of the PDP presidential aspirants with strong
leadership experience.
Mark had said when he joined the race that “in two years, if given
the opportunity, we will turn the economy of this country round, we will
solve these security problems … I think I have got the credentials to
be able to do what I have promised my team.” The senator is aged 70.
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Source: TheCable