Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido has declared that those peddling reports that former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed have emerged as consensus northern candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential ticket are only sharing their personal opinions.
Lamido made the submission on Saturday while reacting to the declaration by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that they have endorsed Saraki and Mohammed as northern consensus candidates.
Naija News recalls while speaking on Friday in Minna, Niger State, NEF spokesperson, Ango Abdullahi stated that the decision to select Saraki and Mohammed was arrived at after they scaled the criteria for selection.
According to him, these criteria included candidates assessment, zonal assessment, and PDP previous experiences.
Lamido on Saturday however submitted that the NEF position doesn’t represent the opinion of PDP members from the north.
He added that consultations are still ongoing among party members, aspirants, and stakeholders towards having a consensus candidate.
“The attention of key stakeholders of the PDP in the northern states is drawn to reports in the media that some northern elders have shortlisted two of our prominent and deserving aspirants as consensus PDP presidential candidates,” the statement reads.
“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.”
This article was originally published on Nigeria News