Disregard Saraki, Mohammed’s Declaration As Northern Consensus Candidates, Lamido Tells PDP Supporters 

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has faulted the northern elders’ declaration of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, as the region’s consensus candidates for the 2023 presidency. 

According to Lamido, by announcing Saraki and Mohammed as the region’s consensus candidates, the elders have done a great disservice to northern presidential aspirants. 

Speaking in a statement he signed on Saturday, the former governor distanced stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the North from the purported consensus. 

“Having widely consulted Party Leaders across the 19 Northern States and FCT, it is hereby stated to our teeming Party members and the general public that what is reported in the Media is only the personal opinion of those who issued the statement and not the position of the PDP members in the North! Discussions are ongoing with ALL the aspirants in our Party with a view to having a National Consensus if possible or at least working towards having a smooth acrimony free National Convention. 

“The position of the Northern Elders is not only injurious to the North but equally injurious to the Northern Aspirants!” said Lamido. 

The northern elders were reported to have announced their choice of Saraki and Mohammed in a communique signed by Ango Abdullahi, the former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University. 

Following the announcement, one of the PDP presidential aspirants and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, had rejected the northern elders’s consensus arrangement. 

“For the avoidance of doubt, Gov Tambuwal has submitted his Presidential nomination forms and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries,” Tambuwal’s campaign office had said in a statement on Friday.