ANXIETY IN SAMBO'S CAMP AS JONATHAN DECLARES

Vice President Namadi Sambo

Anxiety heightens in the camp of the Vice President Namadi Sambo on Monday, ahead of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of interest in the 2015 presidential race.

The elaborate declaration is billed to hold on Tuesday (today) at the Eagles Square, Abuja.

Investigation by our correspondent showed that there was heightened anxiety in the Vice President’s camp over whether the President would retain him as his running mate or not.

There have been media reports that there was pressure on Jonathan, who has been adopted as the sole candidate by all organs of the party to drop Sambo as his running mate in the election.

Those who were putting the pressure had hinged their position on the fact that although the Vice President is loyal to the President, he lacks the required electoral value to deliver his North-West zone to the Peoples Democratic Party.

Political figures, such as Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, had so far been mentioned as people interested in Sambo’s job.

Lately, the name of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, also cropped up. Mu’azu had however denied nursing such an ambition.

Multiple Presidency sources, who spoke with our correspondent, said the fear of the unknown was real in Sambo’s camp.

They admitted that huge pressure was being piled on the President to drop Sambo if he was genuinely interested in winning the election.

“The fear is real. The pressure on the President is very intense. One of the governors mentioned is not hiding his ambition. What we are not sure of is whether the President will succumb to the pressure. We are eagerly waiting for how it will play out at the declaration ground on Tuesday,” one of the sources said.

He said some party chiefs were expecting the President to use his declaration to make his position on the matter known in order to douse the tension.

Another source however said it would be a tactical error on Jonathan’s part to make his position known on the matter at his declaration.

He said the President would prefer to keep mum on the issue until during the national convention of the party, where his sole candidature would be ratified.

“Running mates are not named at declaration rallies. That will be tantamount to a tactical error. The idea is that running mates are named in acceptance speech at the national convention. Anything done earlier than that will open the candidate up for attack from those not happy with his choice,” he said.

The source added that there was no denying the fact that many people were eyeing the Vice President’s seat.

This, he said, was clear from the steady media propaganda being carried out on the matter lately.

Another source however said Jonathan might not be planning to drop Sambo.

The source pointed to the fact that the Chairman of the Presidential Declaration Committee, Dr. Haliru Bello, was one of the Vice President’s loyalists as a proof of his position.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Umar Sani, declined comment on the matter when our correspondent approached him on Monday.

Source: Punch