President Jonathan is said to have rejected Obasanjo’s proposal to replace Vice President Namadi Sambo with Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State as his running mate in next year’s election.
Obasanjo, The Nation gathered, made it clear that the only condition that Jonathan would get his support is if he picked Lamido as his running mate in 2015.
Lamido has already activated a machinery to oil his campaign ahead of the PDP National Convention where the party’s flag bearer will be picked.
Although he has not made any formal declaration
to that effect, he is the only PDP member known to be willing to confront Jonathan in seeking the party’s presidential ticket.
The President himself is yet to formally declare to seek a fresh mandate.
A few weeks ago, Chief Obasanjo in Jigawa State described Lamido, who many see as his political son, as capable of leading the country.
Obasanjo was said to have told President Jonathan that Lamido has more political value than Sambo but the President was not persuaded by the proposal.
A presidency source said Jonathan said he would run with Sambo and even reminded Obasanjo that one of Lamido’s sons was arrested for money laundering.
The source said:”The president had argued that with Obasanjo openly criticising the administration’s anti corruption credentials, it would not be in the best interest of the PDP to bring in Lamido when the money laundering case against his two children was still pending.
“Obasanjo also tried to convince the president that Lamido would be able to bring back the five PDP governors that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) if assured of the vice presidential slot.
“But the president countered that any loyal party chieftain and prominent beneficiary of the party’s platform should not necessarily wait to be given a slot before he could be of such service to his party.”
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