By Ahmed I. Shekarau & Hammeed M. Bello

It will ask aspirants to drop their ambition in favour of a consensus candidate before even going into the primaries, the Kebbi state governor said at the weekend. Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Aliero who is also the ANPP national Convention planning committee chairman, in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in Abuja, said: “we’ll try to have a consensus so that we don’t have to go into the primaries where there would be problem of factions.”

Governor Aliero added: “but I assure you that we’ll do it in such a way that we’ll reconcile all the candidates who are vying for the presidency; so also at the state level where our governorship candidates would emerge”. The ANPP will deliberately delay choosing its flag bearers for the presidential and other elections until December. He said this was a strategic move to ensure that other parties “do not take advantage of any unforeseen bickering that could arise from its selection exercise”.

Asked when the ANPP will choose its flag bearers for the governorship and presidential elections, the convention planning committee chairman who was not precise said: “right now, we are looking towards the month of November 2006, for us to have a convention where the flag bearer of the party at the national level, that’s the presidential candidate, will be nominated. Equally, the same thing with the governorship, National Assembly, state Assemblies and council membership candidates of our party will also be nominated.

“We’re doing this because we want to make sure that other parties do not take advantage of our holding our convention earlier…. That’s why we’re shifting the date of our convention to November and possibly even December”, Governor Aliero stressed. He was however optimistic that the party will not shift grounds on the deadline for the congress to elect its national officers which has been scheduled to hold as from Friday to Saturday this week.

According to him, the convention had to be postponed earlier to give more time to the interim officials to ensure that “all contending issues (from state congresses) are attended to, disputes are resolved and where necessary, we’ll even conduct fresh congresses if we cannot resolve the disputes amicably”. Governor Aliero described as “unfortunate”, the exit of Chief Don Etibiet from the ANPP, stressing that “it’s more unfortunate and lamentable for him to have gone into the PDP. “This virtually confirms most of the allegations against him (Etiebet) that he was being used as a stooge by the PDP to destabilise the ANPP”, the governor said.

The convention committee chairman however expressed optimism that a “credible” leadership for the ANPP will emerge at the end of the forthcoming convention, assuring that “we’ll do everything possible to avoid the pitfalls of the past”. Meanwhile, the top decision making body of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will meet today in Abuja to decide on how the candidates for the presidential election should emerge. It is believed an “integrity test” will be introduced to the process, according to a source within the committee.

The committee will also decide on some disciplinary charges leveled at two governors. The National Executive Committee (NEC) which includes the President and Vice President, the PDP governors and National Assembly leadership, and members of the National Working Committee (NEC) of the party will at a meeting at the party headquarters in Abuja formally approve and release the guidelines for the party’s primary election.

Inside sources told Daily Trust the NEC may have set December 2 as a tentative date for the primary elections, as part of the election guidelines. December 2 is barely two weeks to the deadline given by the election umpires, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for all parties to submit names of their flag bearers for the presidential election.

Although the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali recently disclosed part of the guidelines in Abuja, saying delegates to the primaries have been limited, NEC will either approve the guidelines to be presented, or amend sections that are unacceptable. There are indications that part of guidelines which require any aspirant seeking the presidential ticket of the party to pass the integrity test may face intense opposition because it is perceived as a ploy to discredit some aspirants.

Charges of indiscipline leveled against Governors Boni Haruna and Orji Uzor Kalu are also to be decided by the NEC, although the case of Vice President Atiku Abubakar may not come up because of fears of a division that may arise. A decision will be taken also on the party crisis in Anambra following the struggle by two brothers, Chris and Andy Uba over who controls the party in the state. The NEC will also decide on the crisis in Bayelsa state. The Party had suspended for one month, the Chairman of the party in the State, Chief Fred Agbidi for alleged acts of indiscipline.

He was suspended along with deputy national organizing secretary Mr. Blessom Akpoloma. A statement by the National publicity secretary of the party, Mr. John Odey which announced the suspension said “ after due deliberations, the NWC suspended the state chairman, Chief Fred Agbidi and the deputy national organizing secretary for a period of one month and referred their matter to the national disciplinary committee.

The committee will recommend any action if necessary to the NWC for implementation,” the statement said. It said in the mean time, the PDP has directed the Vice Chairman of the party in Bayelsa, Prince Christopher Hobobo who hails from the Bayelsa South Senatorial District as Chief Agbidi, to act as chairman, pending the investigations by the national disciplinary committee.

The suspension of Agbidi might not be unconnected with a rally recently held by a section of the PDP in Bayelsa State, during which a director of the Niger Delta Deve-lopment Commission (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe was adopted as the Bayelsa state governorship candidate for the 2007 election.

Dr. Ahmadu Ali while disclosing part of the guidelines for the congresses and convention, said the party has increased the number of ward delegates to participate in the congresses from seven to forty. The party also pegged to 10 each, the number of commissioners and special advisers a state governor could take to the national convention for the election of the party’s flag bearer for the presidential election.

He said it as part of the ongoing reforms of the party, there was need to create a level playing ground, hence the pegging of the guidelines. Ali said 25 delegates and 15 members of the executive of the party in each ward would participate in the election of the party’s flagbearer for the House of Representatives, the Senate and the governorship elections.