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By NIGER DELTA INTEGRITY & JUSTICE Group
The 2023 presidential election has long come and gone. A winner has since emerged and we already have a president who has spent just a little over a year in office. But it has been a torid one year plus in office for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Possibly everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for his administration. There is increased inflation, unprecedented food crisis, fuel price has shot through the roof and the Naira is at an all time low to the dollar. The economy, clearly, has never looked this frightening. Many have concluded that the president has failed. But the president and his formidable team of Ministers and economic experts are confident Nigeria will turn the corner soon. After all, they argued, he has only been in office a little over a year and a lot of things are being done to turn things around. Still, a lot of angry Nigerians believe a year is more than enough for him to have taken the country out of the woods if indeed he has the capability to do so. And so, they cannot wait to go to the polls again in 2027.
The opposition parties, understandably, will be delighted with the current state of the nation. The pressure that the prevailing economic situation has put the Bola Tinubu administration is exactly what the big opposition parties like the PDP and Labour Party would like to see. It creates just the appropriate political atmosphere for them to work against the government and begin plans towards the next presidential election in 2027. And for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the last presidential election, the preparations for the 2027 presidential election has begun already.
Information available to City Peope reveals that Atiku Abubakar, who came second at the 2023 presidential election, is looking in the direction of Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, as his running mate. This may come as a shock to many, but ardent political pundits will tell you its not so surprising. To start with, not many know that Duoye Diri and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar are very close. They have been friends for a long time. They have a very strong relationship which goes back a long way. The Bayelsa governor has always been a strong ally of the PDP standard bearer. They both share same political ideologies and have been members of same party in the last few years. This is why it has been speculated within Bayelsa political circles that Governor Duoye Diri might emerge Atiku’s running mate. He wants a running mate from the Niger Delta region. His calculation is that, with Tinubu from the South-West and his deputy from the North East, he has to look in the direction of the Niger Delta region for a running mate and Diri, his friend, appears to be his best possible choice for now. That is the news making the rounds within the top echelon of the political class in Bayelsa State.
But while the news of Douye Diri becoming the running mate of Atiku Abubakar in 2027 has excited many Bayelsans and indeed several parts of the Niger Delta territory, there are also groups of persons who have not found the news any cheering. They feel the Niger Delta deserves better than a deputy president slot come 2027. They have no problem with the former governor, but they have issues with the position he is being tipped to occupy. One of such groups insisting that the Niger Delta deserves much better than a running mate slot come 2027 presidential election is the Niger Delta Integrity and Justice (NDIJ). The group has expressed a preference for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as President to Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, as Vice-President in 2027. The group, in a statement, appreciated the call on Atiku Abubakar to pick the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, as his Vice-Presidential Candidate in 2027.
Describing the remarks by the Diri’s camp that the Bayelsa Governor would make a good pair for Atiku as a good observation, the group however, said there was a different plan for the Niger Delta region in 2027.
The group in the statement by its Secretary, George Miriki, said the region would no longer continue to play the second fiddle in the governance of the country by working to produce only a Vice President.
He said: “Our agenda for 2027 is to produce the President. In as much as we appreciate Diri and his closeness to Atiku, we will work against shortchanging the Niger Delta in 2027. We want to produce the President and our mission is to ensure that the Niger Delta completes its term of eight years at the Presidency.”
The statement noted that “This time, we are coming stronger with the argument of allowing Jonathan to complete his tenure for the region. “Instead of producing a vice-president in Diri, we will prefer a president in Jonathan. He is still loved. And with his global appeal, we believe he will succeed.”
Indeed, many wiil remember that former President Goodluck Jonathan only served one term before he was defeated at the polls by former President Muhammadu Buhari while trying to secure a second term in 2015. And he was loudly applauded for his peaceful stance over the election results as he made no move to resist the outcome of the election. Hence, ever since he left office, he has enjoyed tremendous goodwill from leaders within and outside Nigeria. His commitment to ensuring peaceful conflict resolutions as a Peace Ambassador for the African continent has endeared him to many African leaders and world leaders alike. He has maintained a very cordial relationship with both the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, and the sitting president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It will be recalled that last year, shortly before the 2023 presidential elecion, there was was a spirited attempt by some powerful political forces to lure the former president to join the fray and contest for president. At a time, it seemed as though the grounds had been cleared for him to make his comeback, but at the very last minute, for reasons yet to be made public, he made a U-turn and declined to contest. Sources say he was wary about getting himself politically stained after having done so much to earn the love and respect of millions of Nigerians following his immediate acceptance of the 2015 presidential election results, despite huge pressure from his cl;ose political aides and party members not to do so.
No doubt about it, former President Goodluck Jonathan would give anyone a good run for their mony should he decide to be on the ballot box. He still commands tremendous respect from Nigerians and has very little or no baggage of controversies to deal with. Add this to the fact that he is hugely experienced in governance and you will understand why a lot of people, not only the Niger-Deltans, would be extremely delighted to hear Goodluck Jonathan is back in the race!
– WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
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