Former Senate President, Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim, is among the first set of top politicians to come out to declare his presidential ambition. The politician from Ebonyi State has presented himself for consideration for the PDP ticket. Meanwhile, he will need to have a running mate. There are three northerners he can choose or consider....CONTINUE READING
The PDP has actually thrown the race open. But one thing that is certain is that it is relatively impossible for a particular region to pick up both the presidential and vice presidential slots. Hence, the attention of Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim must be on the northern region.
The first person he may need to consider is former governor Sule Lamido from Jigawa state. The PDP may not have fully tapped from the pedigree and political sagacity of Mr. Lamido. But he can be a good running mate for Pius Anyim. The reasons are logical enough.
Mr. Lamido is a former governor who is very loyal to the PDP. Hence, Anyim may not worry about what may happen if he wins the ticket and the main election. The other reason is just that Sule Lamido has connections with past leaders of the country including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. This may be an added advantage to Pius Anyim.
The second person comes from Kano State and that is a former governor of the state, Mr. Rabiu Kwankwaso. Of course, the former governor has always been at the forefront in the race for the presidency. He has made some attempts in the past without any success.
One thing that may be opportunity for Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim is that if he chooses Mr. Kwankwaso or he considers him, it is will be somewhat easy for the two of them and the PDP to claim Kano State. The state is under the All Progressives Congress now. And if Anyim Pius Anyim records huge success in Kano State, the rest will be simple.
The north central region ought to be carried along as well. Former governor Babangida Aliyu can also be a potential northerner that Anyim Pius Anyim can consider as his running mate. Aliyu has always been a key member of the PDP.
But one factor that may work against the combination of Anyim and Aliyu is the revelation made by the former governor. He said that the northern governors worked against in the 2015 general elections. Politicians like Nyesom Wike and others may oppose the choice of Aliyu.
