The north is making moves to get an alternative to President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general election.
It was further learnt that as the hunt commences, former President Olusegun Obasanjo seems to have settled for between his two allies, former governors of Jigawa and Kano, Sule Lamido and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Sources privy to the political situations in the north on Monday, January 23, 2017 said that 2019 was one of the issues discussed when former President Goodluck Jonathan visited Obasanjo on Friday, January 20.

According to one of the sources, Obasanjo, who is no longer happy with the current administration’s style of government, did not come out straight on his choice for 2019 at the meeting. However, his current ‘body language’ shows that he favours Lamido.

Lamido, it was further revealed, has his eyes on the seat and has been mobilizing support ahead of the election. He is known to have said he would never leave the Peoples Democratic Party giving the impression that he would contest under the party platform.
“I can tell you that part of the discussion between Obasanjo and Jonathan centred on the 2019 election and the need to make the PDP stronger as an opposition party even though baba has decided to be a statesman.

“There is this fear that Buhari cannot continue after 2019. He is daily becoming weak and the weight of the country’s challenges is very heavy,” the source from the north said.

An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain from the north also confirmed the development but said that the ruling party was already in a fix.

According to him, there are those prodding the president on even if it is not really known whether Buhari was really interested in the forthcoming election.

He further disclosed that some northern leaders are no longer comfortable with the current administration as they believe that it had not favoured them.

He however expressed optimism that Buhari would “weather the storm” when the time actually comes to decide who rules Nigeria in 2019.

When contacted, the national president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said that both Lamido and Kwankwaso are stooges to Obasanjo.
He added: “We will collectively look for alternative considering the fact that age has overtaken him and even when he means well for the country, he cannot do much and many people in the government are capitalising on that to unleash terror on the people of the country and advise him wrongly.

“It is clear to everybody that the government has been hijacked. This is one major opportunity that the north has and we will make hay while the sun shines by bringing in another person to fix this present quirmire.”

Naij