Anxiety in Sambo's camp as Jonathan declares!

Anxiety heightens in the camp of the Vice
President Namadi Sambo on Monday, ahead
of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s
declaration of interest in the 2015 presidential
race.
The elaborate declaration is billed to hold on
Tuesday (today) at the Eagles Square, Abuja.
Investigation by our correspondent showed
that there was heightened anxiety in the Vice
President’s camp over whether the President
would retain him as his running mate or not.
There have been media reports that there
was pressure on Jonathan, who has been
adopted as the sole candidate by all organs
of the party to drop Sambo as his running
mate in the election.
Those who were putting the pressure had
hinged their position on the fact that although
the Vice President is loyal to the President,
he lacks the required electoral value to deliver
his North-West zone to the Peoples
Democratic Party.
Political figures, such as Governor Ibrahim
Shema of Katsina State and Governor Sule
Lamido of Jigawa State, had so far been
mentioned as people interested in Sambo’s
job.
Lately, the name of the National Chairman of
the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu
Mu’azu, also cropped up. Mu’azu had
however denied nursing such an ambition.
Multiple Presidency sources, who spoke with
our correspondent, said the fear of the
unknown was real in Sambo’s camp.
They admitted that huge pressure was being
piled on the President to drop Sambo if he
was genuinely interested in winning the
election.
“The fear is real. The pressure on the
President is very intense. One of the
governors mentioned is not hiding his
ambition. What we are not sure of is whether
the President will succumb to the pressure.
We are eagerly waiting for how it will play out
at the declaration ground on Tuesday,” one
of the sources said.
He said some party chiefs were expecting the
President to use his declaration to make his
position on the matter known in order to
douse the tension.
Another source however said it would be a
tactical error on Jonathan’s part to make his
position known on the matter at his
declaration.
He said the President would prefer to keep
mum on the issue until during the national
convention of the party, where his sole
candidature would be ratified.
“Running mates are not named at declaration
rallies. That will be tantamount to a tactical
error. The idea is that running mates are
named in acceptance speech at the national
convention. Anything done earlier than that
will open the candidate up for attack from
those not happy with his choice,” he said.
The source added that there was no denying
the fact that many people were eyeing the
Vice President’s seat.
This, he said, was clear from the steady
media propaganda being carried out on the
matter lately.
Another source however said Jonathan might
not be planning to drop Sambo.
The source pointed to the fact that the
Chairman of the Presidential Declaration
Committee, Dr. Haliru Bello, was one of the
Vice President’s loyalists as a proof of his
position.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice
President on Media and Publicity, Umar Sani,
declined comment on the matter when our
correspondent approached him on Monday.




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