PDP Confirms Sambo As Gej's Running Mate

Five days after the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole candidate for the 2015 presidential election, a new twist to his possible vice presidential candidate has been introduced. While what appeared reprieve came the way of Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo yesterday as the party officially confirmed him as President Jonathan’s running mate for 2015, posters pairing the president with the national chairman, Dr Adamu Mu’azu also yesterday surfaced in strategic areas of the capital city, Abuja. Regardless of the Jonathan/Mu’azu posters, however, the PDP has insisted that the current vice president was part of the winning team and had the confidence of President Jonathan to carry on with him as one presidency. There had been musings in political circles that Sambo’s job was under threat, following covert moves by some influential northern powerbrokers within the party to displace Sambo. No less than three northern governors have been linked with the pressure being put on President Jonathan to drop his deputy as running mate for the 2015 presidential election. The Mu’azu twist is the latest move made in this bid. The inability of last Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting to expressly state the status of the vice president had heightened speculation that Sambo’s job was still under threat. But Mu’azu has dismissed the posters, saying mischief makers were behind them. The PDP, in a statement issued yesterday said Sambo remained part of the position it had taken on the president. The ruling party said the Presidency was one. The statement, signed by the party’s national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, aside describing Sambo as part of the party’s winning team ahead of the 2015 election expressed confidence in the vice president. The statement read, “There is no doubt whatsoever that the Vice President has the implicit confidence of the President. The PDP is therefore very pleased that they are working together in actualising the transformation agenda to the popular acclaim of both Nigerians and the international community. “We wish to place on record as well that the 66th NEC meeting of our great party, which endorsed President Jonathan as the sole candidate of the PDP for the 2015 general elections, responsibly reasoned and anchored this decision on the outstanding performance of the Jonathan Presidency, of which Vice President Sambo is an integral part. “This motion, which was unanimously endorsed by NEC, left no room for any form of speculation, as Senator Jim Nwobodo who seconded it expressly commended both the President and his Vice for lifting the banner of the PDP very high, while praying the NEC to approve the motion.” Nonetheless, posters of the president and the national chairman were seen around the FCDA, NTA and Federal Secretariat areas of Abuja and were pasted courtesy of a group by the name National Chairman Support Group. The campaign posters had on them inscriptions such as “The game has changed for better transformation; a united Nigeria is possible beyond 2015”, “Support for Dr Goodluck ‘Ebelle’ Jonathan (President), Dr Adamu Muazu (Vice President)”. Mu’azu’s media aide, Akin Oyegoke has however described the posters as mischievous. “This is purely mischief that is most condemnable in its entirety. It must be ignored, because this is not the first time things like this will be brought to the public. “At first, these mischief makers said the national chairman was eyeing the presidency, now that the president has been endorsed, they have shifted their focus to the president’s running mate. “This is totally condemnable, because it is misleading; the national chairman knows nothing about the said posters,” Oyegoke told LEADERSHIP. PDP sets up 8-man committee for Yobe The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has set up an eight-man caretaker committee to oversee the operations of the party in Yobe State. According to a statement by the party’s spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, the committee has Alhaji Sule Abdulkadir Doguwa as chairman and Ahmad Sani Kaura as secretary. The statement did not, however, include the names of the other members of the committee. Meanwhile, PDP, in the same statement blamed the opposition for trying to cause confusion over the activities of their zonal integration committee. The party, last week inaugurated a zonal integration committee to facilitate reconciliation among members and smooth operations of the party across the six geo-political zones ahead of 2015. But PDP said, “Our attention has been drawn to a plot by the opposition to cause confusion among our leaders and members by organising groups to disrupt the activities of the recently inaugurated PDP Zonal Integration Committees in some states, while attempting to distort the facts regarding their role in relation to the party structures in the states. “The national leadership wishes to state categorically that the Zonal Integration Committees have absolutely nothing to do with the party structures in the states and have no powers whatsoever to interfere with their composition and activities. “The national leadership has immense respect for the dictates of the provisions of the PDP constitution with regard to structure, roles and powers of our party leadership at all levels and will ensure that this is respected at all times. “Members of the committees are indeed notable and respectable leaders of the party who know that it is not within their schedule to interfere with the party structures in the states.” http://leadership.ng/news/384851/pdp-confirms-sambo-muazus-posters-flood-abuja