Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed confidence in the ability of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi to lead the country. Speaking during a meeting held on Thursday, Jonathan said he is very familiar with the Governor’s commitment to national service. Governor Bala served as FCT Minister during Jonathan’s tenure as President.   “If you are there (as President), then I have a son,” Jonathan said. “Every father wants his son to grow. “Those of you who worked with me, it is my duty to support you. We are the same family. The best thing will happen for us. “You are very competent and focused person. By the divine providence, with the support of Nigerians and God, you will become the President of Nigeria.”

  Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the call on the Peoples Democratic Party to zone its presidential ticket to a particular region of the country, adding that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not recognise it. This is as he expressed optimism that the PDP would adopt the indirect primary, which he said was not only the most efficient and least expensive, but also allowed the politically enlightened members of the party to make important decisions for the party. Atiku, who spoke at a meeting with members of a group, ‘Let’s Fix Nigeria’ with Atiku, on a solidarity visit at his residence in Abuja, said any Nigerian endowed with the right attributes could lead the country, as against the call for a younger president, and urged Nigerians to look for such a person and give him leadership. Similarly, the leader of the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who was present at the meeting said, there was no doubt whatsoever that Atiku had the capacity, ability, the will, to unite the country as he had been tested and proven. It would be recalled that the Southern and Middle-Belt Forum, comprising the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere; the pan-Igbo socio-political group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo; and the Middle-Belt Forum, had called all political parties to zone their presidential ticket to the South as the regions would not vote for a Northern presidential candidate in 2023. But speaking on Thursday, Atiku, who is one of the prominent northern politicians interested in contesting the 2023 presidential election, said, “Fundamentally, the Constitution says all of us can run. The Constitution has not barred any one of us. There is no zoning in the Constitution; there is none. I was a member of the constituent assembly that drafted the current Constitution and there was nothing like that. However, the Waziri of Adamawa, who recalled how he bought the idea of zoning in the PDP during a discussion with a former vice president, the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, assured that he would adopt measures that would unify and stabilise Nigeria, if elected. “But then, as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, we felt that there should be a sense of belonging. We went and invented this zoning. “Therefore, we went further to say there should be zonal representation. So, let me assure you that as far as I am concerned, I will observe and implement whatever will bring about the peace and stability of this country. “Leadership is endowed by God. You can have a young man come and do better than an old man. So, it is an endowed attribute from God, therefore, we should try to look for such a person who has been endowed by God, who has those attributes and then give him leadership. The former vice president lamented that Nigeria was more divided now than it was during the Civil War, while insecurity and poverty had become prevalent in the country. “I have never seen; this country have so many challenges at the same time. So, sometimes, when I am on my bed, I begin to wonder whether to go for it (contest) or not, because the challenges are just too many. In my life, I have never seen Nigeria in such a bad situation. “As far as the unity of this country is concerned, we are more divided. Even when we fought the Civil War, we were never as divided as this. We never have a breakdown of law and order like this because when we fought the Civil War, it was confined to a particular location, in every other place, there was peace. “We never had this kind of poverty where even the farmer cannot go to farm the food to eat, not to talk of commercial farming. So, I have never seen this country so bad, and it is going to be a daunting task for anybody to come and turn things around.”

  The Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, has said he trusts the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to make the right decision on who to take over from him in 2023. According to Ayade, Buhari would act in “the interest of the nation,” and advise the ruling All Progressives Congress as to the best candidate to succeed him. Speaking with BBC pidgin on Friday, Ayade said, “I believe the President will do the right thing for the interest of this nation. As far as I know, Buhari, to a large extent, would be the one to decide for the party (APC) the person that will succeed him. If he sees Osinbajo as the right candidate, having worked with him for eight years, I will support him. He is a man of good conscience who is fair and sensitive. That tells you that he truly belongs to no one but belongs to everyone.” Asked what he thought about the presidential ambition of APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Ayade said it was within his right to declare his ambition, particularly given his role in Buhari’s electoral victory. Ayade said, “Anybody that has come to contest from the South is in his/her right to do so. More people will still come out. If you ask me about Tinubu, I would say it is correct that he came out, because he fought and worked hard and supported Buhari to put this government that is in place. Such a man will expect that since we are talking about a southern presidency, let him try to contest. “Anyone that is saying he is not supposed to declare his intention is not doing the right thing. He should try his best. I cannot say it is not good. I can’t say that. I belong to a party and the party will calculate. If the party says it is Tinubu, I will support him. If the party decides to go with someone else, I will lead the convoy that will go and beg Tinubu about the party’s decision. This is because I know that the man has worked hard for this party and I have a conscience. “If you see someone that has struggled like that to make the party stand then you will now say, ‘Go, we don’t need you again. You are too old.’ It is not good. I won’t do that.” Ayade said he was still waiting on the party for a decision and would back the party’s decision irrespective of who he is. “I am waiting for the party. If the party makes the calculation and says it should not be Tinubu for any reason, everyone deserves respect on their own level. He (Tinubu) deserves special respect. We must go and convince him. He is not a bad person. He is a good person. If he sees that he is given a good reason that convinces him, then we can go ahead. That is my position,” he added. Asked to advise the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, about the presidential bid, he said, “I will advise Osinbajo to continue to support the system. I will help him in any way that I can. I will not advise him against his own ambition. I will not tell him to run when he doesn’t want to run. We are friends and as far as I know this country, we in the political class all meet together at one point or the other.” The governor, however, said, many people were ‘pushing’ him to contest for presidency in the coming elections but he is ‘not like that.’ Ayade said, “I belong to a family. They are the ones that will calculate and bring out a candidate. You may even be in your house sleeping and they will call you up from sleep and tell you that you are the chosen one.”

  Members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, on Thursday, unanimously voted in favour of the impeachment of the Deputy Governor, Mahdi Gusau. The decision of the House to vote for his impeachment followed a motion moved by the Deputy Speaker and Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Musa Yankuzo, and seconded by Yusuf Maru. After the secondment of the motion, the Speaker, Nasiru Magarya, directed the Clerk to House, Shehu Anka, to effect voting for each and every member of the House, who attended the plenary as required by law. Eighteen out of the 22 members of the House voted in favour of the impeachment. Shortly after the voting, the Speaker said, “Having satisfied the requirements of the law, the House passes a strong resolution requesting the state Chief Judge, Justice Kulu Aliyu, to immediately constitute a panel to investigate all the allegations levelled against the Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu Muhammad Gusau, as contained in the provision of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.” At Wednesday’s plenary, the Speaker directed that each member of the House be served with the impeachment notice alongside with all the allegations levelled against him for their perusal and necessary action. With this development, attention has now g shifted to the chief judge to constitute the panel to investigate the deputy governor as required by the law of the land.