By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
Some concerned Nigerians and groups supporting the Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, his Bauchi State counterpart, Senator Bala Mohammed and former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim yesterday obtained the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, expression of interest and nomination forms for them.
The forms were obtained at the PDP headquarters of the party after the payment of N40m for each of the presidential aspirants.
The various groups and individuals, who started thronging the PDP headquarters early yesterday, were accompanied by large crowd of supporters who literarily set the secretariat on fire.
While the forms for the Sokoto State Governor were obtained for him by five Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs and thirteen other Nigerians, that of Anyim was purchased by a coalition of about 350 groups.
The Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed vanguard, who came with its coordinators from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, among others, bought forms for Governor Baka Mohammed.
After obtaining the forms for Tambuwal, the group of Concerned Nigerians for Tambuwal, which was coordinated by Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro SAN, described him (the Sokoto State Governor) as a young and vibrant person who can “take us to the promised land”.
The Concerned Nigerians, Akinboro said, are made up of “hardworking and young professionals wanting to get things better in this country”.
Akinboro, SAN, said, “We have been going through this analyzing things, looking at each and every one or every one of these people coming up. The only person that is interesting to us, we find interesting is Tambuwal.
“He is strong, he is agile, he is intelligent, he is focused. We have seen him demonstrate good leadership.
“One of the major things you see in leadership is humility. Somebody that sees himself even lower than the people he leads.
“He is young and vibrant and can take us to the promised land and PDP is the platform that can actually actualize this if we get to do things right.
“Nigerians needs him at this time. We are not lacking in strong leaders, we are lacking in people that understand the politics of Nigeria”, he said.
Other SANs on the list of the Concerned Nigerians are; HOn Suleiman Usman SAN, Mr Paul Harris Ogbole, SAN,
Prince (Dr) Richard Ahonaruogho, SAN, and Mr Usman O Sule SAN.
The Bauchi State Governor’s lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, played host to the Bala Mohammed Vanguard, BMV, a political pressure group, which earlier in the day, purchased the N40m Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the governor.
The BMV group, dressed in T-shirts and face caps bearing the image of Governor Mohammed, besieged the gallery, urging the former Federal Capital Territory to accept the challenge of rescuing Nigeria from what they called the grip of leadership deficit.
In a brief address before the presentation of the forms, Director General of BMV, Mohammed Jibo narrated how the group had been on the trail of the governor to join the PDP Presidential race, saying, “In January last year, the group met you (Gov. Bala Mohammed) in Bauchi to let you know that Nigerians needed you. We told you we wanted you to contest for the Office of President but you told us you were consulting.
“Today, we have bought the forms for you and we are here to present the gift to you. By the grace of God, you will emerge victorious because you are the President Nigerians need.”
Also speaking, Charity Anthony, Women leader of the group, extolled the leadership qualities of Senator Bala Mohammed which made the group picked him from the pack of 2023 Presidential aspirants.
The event was attended by renowned academic, Professor Udenta Udenta and former Director General of the Nigeria Orientation Agency, NOA, Mike Omeri among others.
Also yesterday, a coalition of about 350 groups who stormed the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday to purchase expression of interest and presidential nomination forms for former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, said they took the action because of their unshaken confidence in his ability to govern the country.
Addressing journalists after picking the forms, Comrade Mayor Samuel, who read a statement on their behalf, said the recent experiences of Nigerians in the hands of the present government have shaken their belief in the country, saying that it would require an individual of the competence of the former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) to restore citizens’ faith in the country.
