From Bolaji Adebiyi in Lagos, Josephine Lohor and Oke Epia in Abuja, 06.30.2006

As the permutations for the nation's topmost job become more complicated with all, safe the South-west zone, bidding for it, the South-south appears increasingly unable to throw up fresh aspirants who will not face uphill task in the bid to secure the number one job.
At the starting block so far are Governors Donald Duke (Cross River), Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom) and Peter Odili (Rivers). Also being mentioned is serving Senator Udoma Udo Udoma from Akwa Ibom. Of the four, only the Ibibio-born senator stood against the presidential quest for tenure extension.

But since the defeat of the project in the Senate early last month there has been growing consensus that its sponsors and supporters should not be allowed to contest for any public office again having attempted to foist a pseudo-civilian dictatorship on the nation.
Notwithstanding the misgivings over third term, however, analysts believe that of all the possible contenders from the zone, two stand out as credible and possessing the attributes needed in a president: Udoma and Duke.

But when compared with contenders from the North they are considered lightweight in terms of resources to prosecute a presidential campaign and the network of contacts across the nation.

The case for the zone was, however, further weakened by a moral argument raised by Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State yesterday in Abuja. Referring to a gentleman agreement・reached by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in 1998 that the presidency would rotate between the North and the South, he said the South-south had no claim to the job.

Let us wait for our turn,・he told State House correspondents at Aso Rock Villa after a meeting with the President.

During the debate on third term only one of the zone's 18 senators opposed the project just as all the governors supported it.
The backlash was immediate as Governor Abdullahi Kure of Niger State told THISDAY that the zone had no outstanding personality with the national reach to bid for the presidency.

Specifically, he picked on Odili whom he derisively told not to hope to be president simply because he had a large purse, saying despite the huge resources at his disposal, he had failed to lift his oil-rich state.

What seems to have compounded Odili's case is the growing feeling in the zone, especially outside River state, that he cannot represent them. THISDAY checks reveal that other governors within the zone except Jonathan Goodluck of Bayelsa have made it clear that they will not back his aspiration. But even Goodluck has declared that he would go wherever his Ijaw kinsmen go on the issue, a tacit way of denying Odili his support.

Already, Ijaw leaders who met in Port Harcourt last week, have decided that as the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, except the South-south candidate is an Ijaw man, then such cannot claim to represent the zone.

But supporters of the governors have continued to push ahead their cases for the job, extracting votes of confidence from their Houses of Assembly to back their chief executives・presidential aspiration.
Interestingly Igbinedion insisted yesterday that the zone should forget for now, its presidential aspiration, saying it was the turn of the North to claim the job.

He stated that he believed that "the South-south is not in contention for the Presidency of this country for now."

He said that he was hinging his belief on antecedents.
But when reminded by newsmen that there were still very strong voices in favour of the zone to produce the next President in 2007, the governor answered: "Some, meaning that the voices were few.・BR>In response to a question on whether he was indeed suggesting that the South-south zone should forget about the presidency, Igbinedion said that he believed that "we should just exercise patience and wait for our turn"

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, has said the party will not substitute the name of any candidate validly nominated at all levels of the primaries for the 2007 general elections.

He advised members seeking the nomination of the party to work very hard at the grassroots level to secure the votes of the electorate as nobody no matter how important・would be imposed on the people.
Receiving in audience a delegation of PDP members from Sokoto State, Ali said both himself and the national secretary were empowered to sign the nomination forms that will be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and in that regard, they would not substitute any name not forwarded to them from the states.
He said: the president will not bog you with any gubernatorial candidate except the one you choose yourselves."

The national chairman also took a swipe at members of the other faction of the party, describing them as disgruntled PDP members that have refused to leave the party even though they are associating with opposition parties.

He said they have registered a complaint with the police to the effect that the faction is a usurpation of the NWC recognized by INEC, adding however, that the traffic into the party was greater than those exiting.

But in a chat with THISDAY yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Chief Solomon Lar- led faction, Mr. Bode Ojomu, said they would not be intimidated into swallowing our convictions as this is a matter of no retreat, no surrender.

Ojomu challenged Ali to tell the world if he was truly elected in a democratic election saying 妬t is a travesty of democracy for unelected officials of the PDP to pursue anti-democratic agenda.

Resort to intimidation is evidence of their weakness and that is merely begging the question.・BR>He said all attempts to salvage the PDP would not be abandoned in the face of intimidation and that if Ali and his executive were popularly elected in a national convention there would not be need for them to be jittery over the rise of the faction.