By Ben Ogbemudia, Ben Adoga, Linus Aleke, and Deborah Onyofufeke
After a high wire game of intrigues, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, once again lived up to their reputation as a serial candidate in a presidential race. After a series of last-minute political realignments and horse-trading midwifed by northern elders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Wazirin Adamawa edged out the frontline southern aspirants, including Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

Atiku will be flying the PDP flag in the 2023 presidential election. His victory at the primary held at the weekend was predicated on efforts by northern elders in the PDP, after an emergency meeting on Friday morning.

They had held a meeting at 3am, before Saturday’s Special National Convention which scuttled Wike’s presidential ambition.

At the gathering, the elders impressed on Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, ‘to see reason’ in supporting a northern candidate, instead of banking with a southerner.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the political permutations within and around the velodrome, the venue of the 2022 PDP Special National Convention in Abuja had tipped the Rivers State governor as the possible winner of the contest as delegates were seen in clusters discussing the possible outcome of Saturday’s convention.

All the indications then were that Wike would be the likely winner of the PDP presidential ticket.

Some top officials of the Rivers State government, as well as delegates who were ignorant of the Friday meeting, were seen making calls, telling their audience at the other end in very low but excited voices that what was left was the formality of voting, and then the celebration would begin.

Though that was the general mood at the venue of the convention, it was not to be at the end of the day.

Before the arrival of the key contenders who were in marathon meetings with key political bigwigs of the party to finally cross the t’s and dot the i’s, before storming the venue in a grand style, vicious rumours trickled in that the leadership of the party was had concluded an arrangement to abort the ongoing convention.

ThisNigeria crew made contact with insider sources at the national headquarters of the party, in an apparent move to be at the forefront of breaking the story. Surprisingly, the source said that there was nothing like that as the national chairman of the party with other top chieftains were already on their way to the convention venue to officially kick- start the main business of the day.

However, while we were still receiving briefs on our inquiry on the rumoured postponement, the frontline contenders in the party primary began to trickle in, in grand style.

The ovation that greeted the arrival of the Rivers State governor into the arena was huge. It could have sent some cold waves into the spine of other big masquerades in the race, as well as confirmed the subterranean excitement that Wike was coasting to victory.

With a total number of 14 aspirants, Dr Mohammed Hayatu–Deen having unceremoniously withdrawn from the race, the 773 delegates had worked on their hands.

For the records, the list of aspirants, in no specific order was as follows: Atiku Abubakar; Nyesom Wike; Aminu Tambuwal; Bukola Saraki; Bala Mohammed; Emmanuel Udom; Anyim Pius Anyim; Ayodele Fayose; Anakwueze Nwachukwu; Sam Ohuabunwa; Tariola Diana Oliver (Mrs); Chikwendu Kalu; Dele Momodu and Charles Okwudili.

Reactions as Atiku emerges PDP presidential candidate

It is also worthy of note that of the 773 delegates, Kano State had the highest number with 44 delegates, while the FCT and Bayelsa State had the least, with six and eight respectively.

Kano was followed by Akwa Ibom with 32 delegates, while Niger and Lagos had 25 and 20 respectively.

Unconfirmed rumours at the venue were that some delegates had been paid $15,000 before the commencement of voting by aspirants.

Other contenders like a former governor, were said to have paid less than the aforesaid.

While rumours festered that delegates had been induced in the earlier primary election with plenty of dollars, it was expected that the presidential primary would be the mother of them all.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stormed the venue of the primary election. No one was arrested or taken. The operatives spoke to no one before they left the venue. The message was, however, sent.

Though on the ground, there was no notice of money inducement as speculated that US dollars was flying around delegates.

However, one of the aspirants, Dele Momodu, confirmed that the primary election was very heavily monetised and ‘dolarised’.

He said, “It takes a very strong man to survive to this stage, because of the dollar rain, many have absconded.”
In the end, a winner emerged in the person of Atiku with 371 votes, followed by Wike, who scored 237 votes.

Others are Saraki with 70 votes; Emmanuel (38), Mohammed (20); Anyim (14) votes, while Ohuabunwa and Mrs Diana scored only one vote each.

•Last-minute manoeuvres by party northern elders, southern govs
Regional considerations, rather than a monetary inducement, changed the paradigm for the veteran presidential aspirant, Atiku.

From the delegates’ list, it was clear that the North was a factor, with a greater number of delegates.

However, with initial horse-trading, that didn’t matter as the serious aspirants had gone around the country mobilising votes.

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The leading contenders in the race were Atiku, Wike, Tambuwal and Saraki.

Of these four, it was clear that any of them could emerge, but, Wike, from the behaviour of delegates, was in the lead. When he was called upon to address the delegates, the venue erupted in wild jubilation and victory songs, even before voting.

It was also clear that his state, Rivers, Ondo, Ekiti, and Benue states were fully mobilised for Wike. Delegates from these states even wore Wike’s branded clothes, not minding aspirants from their states.

Wike had told the delegates to vote for him as he was capable, bold, and courageous enough to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

It became obvious that while Wike was coasting to victory, some Northern interests went into caucus consultations. That resulted in the withdrawal of one of the leading contenders who equally had mobilised massively and came with a lot of supporters.

While aspirants were taking their turns to address the delegates before the voting proper, the governor of Sokoto State, Tambuwal swept the red carpet off Wike’s foot when he announced the decision reached by the northern elders on Friday morning, making it look as if it was done on the patriotic ground, and not on the ground of Fulani solidarity.

He told the delegates that he was withdrawing from the race, after consultations, but urged his supporters to queue behind Atiku.

It was also alleged that the governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and his Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, also put the final nail on the coffin that edged Wike out as Enugu and Delta delegates were also allegedly instructed to deliver on the Atiku ticket in turn for their possible nominations as vice president to Atiku.

Tambuwal, it was gathered, closed his eyes against becoming a running mate to a southern president. The feeling was that he chose to perish his ambition for the collective interest of the north, but his Enugu counterpart allegedly sold out.

•Reactions

Responding to the outcome of the poll, a PDP chieftain from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dapo Joseph, explained, “Generally, Tambuwal stepping down for Atiku was what helped Atiku. Wike would have won.

“Northern politicians always know how to help the North, but you will never get such cooperation and gesture from those from the south. The South is civilised and educated, but what’s the importance of education when you can’t protect your interest?”

Another political analyst, Kingsley Tammy Jumbo wrote on Wike’s ordeal: “He shook the North. He made them know that the south can’t be overlooked or treated with levity. He traversed the nation and made bold statements where others feared to venture. He ventured and went head-to-head.”

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He added, “Posterity shall forever remember him as the southerner that made the north quiver and tremble for the first time. Since 1999, who dared the North? But on his maiden outing, he did make them shake till they got scared and had to plot using whom he considered a trusted ally, an aspirant he publicly expressed interest for and supported in the 2018 PDP presidential primary, but the same person couldn’t return the favour. Northern agenda/interest played out.

“For his first presidential primary outing, he raked 237 votes, losing with a difference of 134, against Atiku’s 371 on the sixth (6th) attempt (1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023).

Another wrote “Governor Wike has paved the way. He has shown that, with courage and determination, one can dare. Today, he made history. If Governor Wike can go to this extent, then any of us with guts can. The south has now known better.

“Super proud of my governor!!! Godfather and leader of southern politics!!!”

A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Abdul-Raheem Shittu said Alhaji Atiku Abubakar deserved to win.

Atiku has been on it for a long time, nobody is as popular as he is within the party, given his experience and his tenacity and commitment.

“It is only fair that the delegates and members of his party gave him the opportunity. I mean this is the last opportunity he will have. So for me being a member of the opposition APC, I want to congratulate him, I am convinced that he deserves to win.

Atiku as a northerner, Shittu said, “For me, that argument is very pedestrian and unnationalistic. We want the best for this country, it should not be about reaching. It should be about competence, it should be about experience, and it should be about capacity. I mean, we have competent people from all over the place.

“Atiku was not elected because he comes from the North but because of his antecedent and standing. All parties should produce principles because there are competent people from all over the country. If you enter a plane and you are going somewhere, you won’t start looking for the tribe of the pilot or the religion of the pilot.

“You look at competence, capacity, what he will deliver and the Nigerian project is a much larger, more substantial challenge. So I will prefer that you leave the thing open and I will also prefer that the next leaders should look towards more competence, more capacity rather than tribe or religion

“Like I always said, I belong to APC, when we elected Buhari in 2015, we didn’t elect him because he comes from Daura or the North but because at that time, he was the most competent person we could have within the APC who could deliver the goods. I know that we have competent people from all over the country, from the south, North, East, and West. I want to congratulate him

An Edo State analyst and lawyer, Jefferson Uwoghiren, said Atiku’s victory has implications for the state.

“Yesterday, I wrote on the political outcomes of Senator Ayu’s management of the PDP National Convention to elect a presidential candidate and the battle for recognition and relevance by the feuding factions of Edo PDP.
“Earlier yesterday, I read that members of Dan Orbih’s faction were consigned to the press pavilion overflow with some wearing tags stolen from other states. It’s a comical ascription of a very serious matter.

“The Governor’s group was reportedly encamped in another part of Abuja ready to storm the convention venue in a blaze of glory. Despite numerous court admonitions, the convention’s right to vote was the crowning glory of the conflict.

“The next few days is a veritable window of opportunity to negotiate a political solution to abate this deluge of cataclysmic errors,” he said.

On her part, the former Edo-State House of Assembly Speaker, Elizabeth Ativie, said Atiku has been contesting hence it good was given to him again.

“This should be the fourth time he is contesting. He was the vice president, and in terms of knowing the problems of Nigeria, he should be well aware of them. Whether he will be able to fix the problem of Nigeria that is what I cannot say. I don’t think so,” she added.