The Northern Elders Forum has endorsed Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki as the northern consensus candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party.
This was made known in Minna on Friday by Ango Abdullahi, who is the Convener of the forum.
Abdullahi stated that the two aspirants chosen by the elders should work together and decide on which of them would be the consensus candidate.
“For the purpose of this exercise, it is hereby resolved that Governor Bala Mohammed from the North-East and former Senate President Bukola Saraki from the North-Central be presented as the northern consensus candidates for the moment.
“The successful aspirants are hereby urged to work together to make allowance for further consultations to foster understanding among themselves and the PDP community to ensure a rancour-free primaries in which all eligible candidates would be free to exercise their right.”
Ango added that of the four aspirants from the northern extraction that presented themselves for the consensus, including Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Bala Mohammed, Saraki, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Saraki and Bala were picked.
One of the aspirants and former Vice-president, Atiku Abubakar did not present himself for the consensus.
He revealed that he was mandated to come up with criteria for selecting the consensus candidate which was conducted in three stages, including candidates’ assessment and zonal assessment.
“In the first phase, the opinions of six distinguished persons each from the three geopolitical zones were sought with regards to each of the four aspirants. Each of the zonal delegates was allocated two votes to choose the first and second choice making a total of 36 votes overall,” Ango said.
He also revealed the outcome of the consultation was as follows, “Aminu Tambuwal had seven votes, 10 votes for Bala Mohammed, 10 votes for Bukola Saraki and five votes for Mohammed Hayatu-deen.
“One of the elders deferred his votes on grounds of continuing consultations with traditional rulers and other major stakeholders. Two members did not cast their second ballots bringing the total to 32 votes cast out of 36,” he said.
Governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed, said they would meet to come out with the best for the unity of the north.
He also said the selection process was transparent and accepted by all.
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