Written by Aliyu Machika
Tuesday, 17 July 2007

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday got two more ambassadorial slots, three more Special Advisers to the President, one special presidential assistant and one more board member, further sweetening its participation in President Umaru Yar’Adua’s proposed unity government. The president approved the additional slots following a request by the five ANPP governors, who held talks with him at the presidential villa in Abuja two weeks ago.

Sources within the party confirmed to Daily Trust that the governors sought for additional ministerial positions but their request was not granted. Also, the two ministerial nominees nominated by the ANPP may face Senate screening this week, according to party officials.

Mr. Emma Enuekwu, ANPP’s national publicity secretary, said names of the party’s two nominees have already been forwarded to the presidency. "We have forwarded names of our nominees for the ministerial position to the presidency. Since it is constitutional right for any nominee to undergo such screening, they too will

go I think by tomorrow or next tomorrow," he said.

He said the ANPP’s nominees were not at the on-going Senate screening session because they were nominated later than their PDP counterparts. He said the party also had to return to the drawing board to accommo-date the president’s request that one of the nominees must be a woman.

Alhaji Dasuki and Hajiya Sa’adatu Bungudu have been nominated from Plateau and Zamfara states as ANPP’s party’s ministerial nominees.

The party’s earlier nomi-nees, Ambassador Ahmed Jidda from Borno state and Senator Yusha’u Anka from Zamfara state had to be replaced.

ANPP’s presidential candidate in the last April’s election, General Muha-mmadu Buhari, has rejected the idea of his party’s participation in Yar’Adua’s proposed unity government. He maintained that no such position should be taken until the cases he and the party filed before the election tribunal are over. But the party’s spokesman, Emma Eneukwu told Daily Trust that the decision of the party to participate in the unity government was taken by the majority of stakeholders, and that their participation will not affect their cases already filed before the election tribunals.

He however said names of the ambassadorial nominees as allocated to geo-political zones were yet to be formally submitted to the party, adding that leaderships in different zones are doing their best to come out with good candidates. He said the four ambassadorial slots were shared between the north and south. He said the North West got two, North East got one, while South West also got one. He said all other slots given to the party were shared based on the six geo-political zones.