President Goodluck Jonathan is to
determine if he will be running with his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo,
during the 2015 presidential election or not, the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party has said.
The
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, who stated
this while answering questions at a press briefing in Abuja, also said
that the President had yet to accept the offer given to him by the
party.
Metuh addressed the journalists
on the planned nationwide tour to be embarked upon by the party’s
national leadership where he said achievements of the party would be
showcased.
It will be recalled that
the National Executive Committee of the party at its 66th meeting in
Abuja on Thursday, adopted the President as its sole presidential
candidate for the 2015 election.
The
President, while responding to the adoption, which was endorsed by all
the organs of the party including the party national caucus, Board of
Trustees, and the PDP Governors Forum, said he was humbled by the
decision.
He, however, did not say whether he was responding on behalf of Sambo or not.
He
said, “The President is yet to communicate to the party or to the
entire country because he is not only the President of the PDP, he is
the President of Nigeria and I cannot inform you of decisions that have
been taken in terms of what will happen because subjective opinions is
not part of my job.
“I believed a lot
of people are trying to speculate on Jonathan/Sambo ticket but why don’t
we wait until when the President declares?
“But
I must inform that part of the reasons the PDP has not mentioned that,
is because it is a winning team. What the President has done he has done
it very well and he is the winning team I believe that there is no need
to magnify or attempt to import any difference between the President
and the Vice President. They have worked so well.
“The
Vice President has continued to be the second most loyal Vice President
in the history of this country so I believe that he enjoys the
confidence of the President. In the 2015 elections if the President
accepts to run we will be able to take it to the next level.”
Asked
if the party would go ahead to sell the party’s nomination form which
costs N12m to other presidential aspirants apart from the President, he
said the leadership of the party would want all members of the party to
obey the directive of NEC.
He said,
“Our convention will hold. The PDP has adopted the President as the sole
presidential candidate, it is believed that all responsible,
respectable party members will comply with the decision of the highest
decision-making body of the party.”
On
whether the party would also give automatic tickets to first term
governors and members of the National Assembly, the party’s spokesperson
said that only the NEC had the power to determine that.
It
is however uncertain if the body would still meet before the party’s
governorship primaries, which has been fixed for November 29.
Metuh
said, “The NEC of the PDP is the highest decision-making organ of the
party therefore, only the national caucus, national executive that can
handle such decisions.
“Such decisions
don’t go down the line to states and local governments. The decision of
the national executive can only be reversed by the national convention.
“If the NEC decides to adopt a House of Assembly member as the sole candidate of the party, that is it purely its decision.”
