Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Northcentral zone have resolved to present a consensus candidate for the coming presidential election, the Director-General, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Campaign Organisation, Mr. Wakil Mohammed, has said.
He said in a statement that the leaders also insisted that the time was ripe for the zone to produce the next president, since it had competent, capable and experienced aspirants that could improve the fortune of the country and its people.
Mohammed said the resolution was taken at a meeting on Wednesday at Grand Ibro Hotel, Abuja, attended by party leaders from the region, which comprised former governors, former and serving legislators, members of the business community and the academia, where they were briefed by Saraki, on his intention to seek the office of the president.
He noted that however, the choice of who the consensus aspirant from the zone will be is yet to be decided.
The campaign organisation said PDP leaders from the region also emphasised that it was the turn of the Northcentral to produce the President, while mandating the leaders to engage their counterparts in other geo-political zones with a view to convincing them to support the consensus aspirant that would be produced by the Northcentral.
It said that speaking to the leaders from the region, Saraki stated that the Northcentral had been a stabilising factor in Nigeria, and from previous experience, it was clear that its leaders had the capacity and will power to unite and develop Nigeria.
The organisation quoted Saraki to have added: “Our zone has been the stabilising factor in Nigeria for many years, and it is clear that we need to continue to fight for the soul of our nation. The 2019 election is not just an election, it is about winning the soul of Nigeria. Right now, to me, and I’m sure to all the other contestants under the umbrella of our great party, nothing is more important than for us than to rescue our people from the clutch of poverty, insecurity and ensure that we bring development to all Nigerians.
“As we move forward, we all need to be courageous. We must provide compassionate leadership for our people. We must protect our people. We must give them live and hope. Our people are asking: “What did we do wrong?” Therefore, right now, we need to be courageous. We must provide competent and compassionate leadership for this country.”
It said that Saraki also stressed that leaders from the Northcentral had demonstrated great capacity to lead, saying they have always performed well in national assignments.