A new crisis is looming in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 elections.
The threat to party peace stems from an alleged plan by some powerful forces to hand over the PDP presidential ticket to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
Tambuwal is currently in the All Progressives Congress (APC) but he is being wooed by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and some other PDP governors to return to the party he dumped ahead of the 2015 elections.
Also pushing for the Sokoto governor’s candidature is a prominent traditional ruler in the North, party sources told The Nation yesterday.
Simultaneously, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) appears to be narrowing its choice of presidential candidate in next year’s election to one of the three ex-governors it is currently wooing as a possible replacement for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ex-governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), and Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) like Buhari, are all from the North-West geo-political zone.
The herald gathered authoritatively that their names feature prominently in ongoing consultations by CNM bigwigs.
But there is a condition: any of them seeking the Olusegun Obasanjo-inspired coalition’s support must first identify with it publicly.
Wike, fresh from installing Prince Uche Secondus as party chairman despite vehement opposition from the likes of former Military President Ibrahim Babangida and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, is said to have drawn the ire of Jonathan and many of his supporters for promoting Tambuwal’s presidential ambition in PDP.
Party sources said the anti-Tambuwal elements are uncomfortable with him in view of the role he played in the loss of power by the PDP in 2015, especially the defeat of Jonathan.
The Jonathan associates and some PDP governors have vowed to stop Tambuwal’s bid to secure the PDP presidential ticket.
Investigation by the Herald on Obasanjo’s CNM revealed that contrary to claims by the former president that he has no preferred candidate for the 2019 presidential race, the coalition may make strong recommendations on some candidates for Nigerians to vote for.