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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has scheduled October 5 and 6, for its national convention where its flagbearer for the 2019 presidential election will emerge. The ICIR takes a look at the profile of each candidate.
Though he has corruption charges hanging over his head, Sule Lamido, a two-time Governor of Jigawa State is not letting up on his presidential ambition.
Lamido was among the first to declare his intention to run for the highest office in the land, having first made a public declaration in September 2017 before turning in a formal declaration notice to the PDP leadership in October.
At 70 (by August 30), Lamido insists he possesses the qualities needed to move Nigeria forward.
Lamido began his political career in the second republic as a member of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) and in the third republic, he became the National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In 1998, Lamido was jailed by the former military Head of State, Sani Abacha; whom he (Lamido) criticised for seeking to perpetuate himself in office. He was released by Abacha’s successor, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and later became one of the founding members of the PDP.
After Olusegun Obasanjo took over in 1999, Lamido was appointed the foreign minister, and in 2007, he contested and won the governorship seat of Jigawa State, serving two terms.
Since leaving office in 2015, Lamido and his two sons have been facing corruption charges for financial crimes allegedly committed during his time as governor. They deny all allegations.
Ahmed Makarfi graduated with a B.sc in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. He later earned a Master’s degree in Accounting before becoming a part-time lecturer at the same institution.
He then moved to the now rested Nigeria Universal Bank, rising to the post of Assistant General Manager.
In 1994, Makarfi was appointed as Kaduna State’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, but when military rule ended in 1999, he contested successfully for the governorship position of the state.
After an eight-year tenure, Makarfi contested and won the Kaduna North senatorial election and went on to spend another eight years in the National Assembly.
Makarfi was appointed PDP National caretaker committee at a contentious national convention held in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. He handed over to Uche Secondus after a tumultuous regime characterized by a series of court cases.
Ahmed Makarfi graduated with a B.sc in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. He later earned a Master’s degree in Accounting before becoming a part-time lecturer at the same institution.
He then moved to the now rested Nigeria Universal Bank, rising to the post of Assistant General Manager.
In 1994, Makarfi was appointed as Kaduna State’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, but when military rule ended in 1999, he contested successfully for the governorship position of the state.
After an eight-year tenure, Makarfi contested and won the Kaduna North senatorial election and went on to spend another eight years in the National Assembly.
Makarfi was appointed PDP National caretaker committee at a contentious national convention held in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. He handed over to Uche Secondus after a tumultuous regime characterized by a series of court cases.
Perhaps the only Senior Advocate of Nigeria in the race for presidency under PDP flagship, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki is also a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs between 2013 and 2015, former Supervising Minister, Ministry of Labour and Productivity between 2014 and 2015, and current Chairman of PDP Former Ministers’ Forum of Nigeria.
He was born on Friday, 3rd April 1957, and hails from Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. He attended the then State College of Arts and Science, Sokoto, between 1980 and 1982; and by 1985 he was done with a three-year law programme at the University of Jos.
In 2012, he was appointed the chairman of the Nigerian Copyright Commission by former president Goodluck Jonathan. He is also a former chairman of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the region.
On three occasions, he contested to clinch the top political seat in Kebbi state — in 1998 under the All People’s Party (APP), in 2003 under the United Peoples Party and in 2007 under the People’s Democratic Party. But on three occasions, he failed.
In May, Turaki declared an intention to run for the presidency and is reported to have the support of Goodluck Jonathan. Former military president Ibrahim Babangida has also commended him for having “a well-articulated development agenda”.
Turaki believes he has a better moral qualification to become the president than Buhari.
“You need someone who can match him or better him integrity-for-integrity,” he said during an interview, “honesty-for-honesty, fairness-for-fairness and at the same time bring other attributes on the table which he clearly does not possess.
“This is what will make the contrast clear and the choices before the electorate clear. And I believe this is where my strength lies.”
Rather than retire to the Senate after completing eight years as governor like many of his colleagues, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has a bigger ambition to become president of the federal republic.
He was born on Wednesday, 4th April 1962, in Gombe, Gombe state. A man of numbers, Dankwambo is a 1985 graduate of Ahmadu Bello University’s Accounting Department. From there, he obtained a Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Lagos in 1992 and then proceeded to Igbinedion University for a PhD in Accounting.
For eleven years, between 1988 and 1999, Dankwambo worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Then, he was appointed Gombe State’s Accountant General, a position he held up till 2005. From there, he held the same post at the national level and was Accountant-General of the Federation till he resigned in 2011 to focus on his campaign for election as Governor of Gombe State.
He eventually won by a landslide in the governorship election of April 26, 2011. Four years later, he was again endorsed by the people for another four-year shot at office.
Earlier in August, the 56-year-old declared an intention to contest in the 2019 presidential election under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). This, he said, is to enable him “consolidate on the gains of democracy and save the country from hunger and starvation”.
He has promised to declare war on “poverty and all kinds of injustices our people are suffering today”, if given the opportunity to become president.
“Nigerians will soon see a wind of genuine renaissance blowing all over their land,” Dankwambo assured Nigerians over the weekend.
“Nigeria needs a man who can fire its imagination, release the people from shackles and make them blossom. I am the man. I don’t want to just be president, I want to be the leader of a 180 million-strong army of achievers.”
Rather than retire to the Senate after completing eight years as governor like many of his colleagues, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has a bigger ambition to become president of the federal republic.
He was born on Wednesday, 4th April 1962, in Gombe, Gombe state. A man of numbers, Dankwambo is a 1985 graduate of Ahmadu Bello University’s Accounting Department. From there, he obtained a Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Lagos in 1992 and then proceeded to Igbinedion University for a PhD in Accounting.
For eleven years, between 1988 and 1999, Dankwambo worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Then, he was appointed Gombe State’s Accountant General, a position he held up till 2005. From there, he held the same post at the national level and was Accountant-General of the Federation till he resigned in 2011 to focus on his campaign for election as Governor of Gombe State.
He eventually won by a landslide in the governorship election of April 26, 2011. Four years later, he was again endorsed by the people for another four-year shot at office.
Earlier in August, the 56-year-old declared an intention to contest in the 2019 presidential election under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). This, he said, is to enable him “consolidate on the gains of democracy and save the country from hunger and starvation”.
He has promised to declare war on “poverty and all kinds of injustices our people are suffering today”, if given the opportunity to become president.
“Nigerians will soon see a wind of genuine renaissance blowing all over their land,” Dankwambo assured Nigerians over the weekend.
“Nigeria needs a man who can fire its imagination, release the people from shackles and make them blossom. I am the man. I don’t want to just be president, I want to be the leader of a 180 million-strong army of achievers.”
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a fierce critic of President Muhammadu Buhari who has assured the PDP that he would defeat Buhari in the 2019 presidential election if the party’s candidacy is given to him. He decamped from the ruling APC because he says Buhari is a hypocrite who claims to fight corruption but surrounds himself with corrupt persons.
He was elected a member of House of Representatives in 2003 under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) representing Zaria federal constituency in Kaduna State. He did not run for election in 2007. However, in 2011, he defeated Ahmed Makarfi, incumbent senator and former governor of Kaduna State, for the Kaduna North senatorial seat.
Before joining politics, Baba-Ahmed worked for the Security Printing and Minting Company. He studied Economics at the University of Westminister in the United Kingdom. He later obtained Masters and PhD from the same university.
Baba-Ahmed is the founder and pro-chancellor of Baze University in Abuja. The university opened its doors for students in 2011.
His father, Baba-Ahmed, was a prominent cattle trader and Islamic scholar who originally came from Mauritania and settled in Zaria, according to Daily Trust. The patriarch, who had 33 children, was a counsellor for two emirs in Shari’a and Islamic jurisprudence in the Zazzau emirate council in Zaria.
The 48-year-old presidential aspirant told ThisDay that only the office of the president would afford him to accomplish the kind of work he wants to do for Nigeria.
If former Vice President Atiku Abubakar wins the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or contests the 2019 presidential election under any other political party, he will be taking his fifth shot at becoming Nigerian president.
After parting ways with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku promised to restructure Nigeria within six months if he is elected Nigeria’s president in the 2019 elections.
Arguably the only veteran for the presidential election in Nigeria among other aspirants for the 2019 general elections, Atiku, 72, made his first attempt at becoming Nigerian president in 1993 under the then Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He placed third in the party’s primaries behind late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.
In 2007, he contested the presidential election as the candidate of Action Congress (AC). He ran against the eventual winner, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and came third behind Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
Before then, after leaving the Nigeria Customs Service as a Deputy Director, Atiku first ran for the office of governor in the old Gongola State (now Adamawa and Taraba States) in 1991 but did not win.
In 1998, he was elected the Governor of Adamawa State.
But he was picked by Olusegun Obasanjo, the PDP presidential candidate in 1999 as his running mate.
On Saturday, July 21, 2018, the Turaki Adamawa as he is fondly called stood before a cheering crowd in his home state of Adamawa, announcing he will seek the PDP ticket for president in 2019.
For his education, Atiku had his primary education at Jada Primary School and in 1960 was admitted to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola. He graduated with a Grade Three WASC/GCE Certificate in 1965.
Following secondary school, he also studied a short while at the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna . He left the College when he was unable to present an O-Level Mathematics result. He worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the regional Ministry of Finance, from where he gained admission to the school of Hygiene in Kano in 1966.
He graduated with a Diploma in 1967, having served as Interim Student Union President at the school. In 1967 he enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from the regional government. After graduation in 1969, during the Nigerian Civil War, he was employed by the Nigeria Customs Service.
History of defections
Seeing largely by many Nigerians as a ‘serial political defector’, the former Vice President has left the PDP twice and also returned twice to the party after failed attempts to actualize his presidential ambition.
Before the end of his second term in office as the Vice President to Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku left the PDP for the first time in 2006 and joined the defunct Action Congress (AC) after years of internal battle with Obasanjo.
Atiku was in AC between 2006 and 2009 when he returned to the PDP, following a rumour of disagreements with one of the leaders of the AC and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu.
In 2010, he ran for the PDP presidential ticket prior to the 2011 election and lost to the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
In August 2013 during the party’s national convention, he alongside seven governors staged a walkout, accusing the leadership of the party and then President Jonathan of impunity and formed a faction of the party called the ‘new PDP’.
He and five disgruntled governors of the PDP moved to the APC where he again, contested the party’s primaries and lost the ticket to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Atiku would later quit the party on November 24, 2017, arguing that the party has failed the people.
For his desire to rule the nation which has taken him in and out of PDP, ACN and APC, the former Vice President is seen largely as a ‘political prostitute’ who crosses from party to party for selfish ambition.
He recently told Nigerians that he was not desperate to become Nigerian president. “I am not desperate and if I were desperate, I would have taken the Presidency in 2003. If I were desperate, I would not have stepped down for (late Moshood) Abiola. I am not desperate,” Atiku said.
Sixty four year-old Attahiru Bafarawa, is having another go at the Nigerian presidency after a failed first attempt in 2007. He ran under the platform of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) that he formed.
He was a local government councillor in charge of education. In 1979, he ran unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP). He was a member of the National Constitutional Conference of 1994–1995, during the military rule of Sani Abacha. He was a founding member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP – 1997) and the All People’s Party (APP – 1998
As a presidential candidate, while meeting with officials of the US State Department in Washington, D.C., he promised to scrap the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) if elected, describing the commission as “a conduit of corruption and waste.”
Bafarawa was elected the governor of Sokoto State in 1999 to 29 May 2007 under All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).
In 1999 he was elected governor of Sokoto State on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and was re-elected for the ANPP in 2003.
Indicted in Dasukigate
In 2015, the federal government, slammed a 43-count charge against Bafarawa, his son, Sagir alongside former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.
Others charged are Raymond Dokpesi, former Finance Director in the office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu and Aminu Baba Kusa.
He and others, according to EFCC, were said to have received huge sums from the NSA without any clear and specified reasons. Before being charged to court, the ex-governor was arrested and detained in connection with the $2.1b arms purchase scam.
Bafarawa and other politicians named beneficiaries of about N100 million each from Dasuki, denied receiving any money.
He was also in a 10-year legal battle with the EFCC over corruption charges.
But a Sokoto State High Court in July, 2018 discharged and acquitted Bafarawa of corruption charges. He and four other accused were freed by the judge.
Bafarawa, four other defendants were charged on the 33-count of corruption by the EFCC
The judge, Justice Bello Abbas while delivering judgement noted that the prosecutor (EFCC) did not show the court that every ingredient of the count charges has been established before presenting them to the court.
The former governor has Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido, Aminu Tambuwal, Ahmed Makarfi and others to contend with to win the PDP presidential ticket.
Sixty four year-old Attahiru Bafarawa, is having another go at the Nigerian presidency after a failed first attempt in 2007. He ran under the platform of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) that he formed.
He was a local government councillor in charge of education. In 1979, he ran unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP). He was a member of the National Constitutional Conference of 1994–1995, during the military rule of Sani Abacha. He was a founding member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP – 1997) and the All People’s Party (APP – 1998
As a presidential candidate, while meeting with officials of the US State Department in Washington, D.C., he promised to scrap the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) if elected, describing the commission as “a conduit of corruption and waste.”
Bafarawa was elected the governor of Sokoto State in 1999 to 29 May 2007 under All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).
In 1999 he was elected governor of Sokoto State on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and was re-elected for the ANPP in 2003.
Indicted in Dasukigate
In 2015, the federal government, slammed a 43-count charge against Bafarawa, his son, Sagir alongside former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.
Others charged are Raymond Dokpesi, former Finance Director in the office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu and Aminu Baba Kusa.
He and others, according to EFCC, were said to have received huge sums from the NSA without any clear and specified reasons. Before being charged to court, the ex-governor was arrested and detained in connection with the $2.1b arms purchase scam.
Bafarawa and other politicians named beneficiaries of about N100 million each from Dasuki, denied receiving any money.
He was also in a 10-year legal battle with the EFCC over corruption charges.
But a Sokoto State High Court in July, 2018 discharged and acquitted Bafarawa of corruption charges. He and four other accused were freed by the judge.
Bafarawa, four other defendants were charged on the 33-count of corruption by the EFCC
The judge, Justice Bello Abbas while delivering judgement noted that the prosecutor (EFCC) did not show the court that every ingredient of the count charges has been established before presenting them to the court.
The former governor has Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido, Aminu Tambuwal, Ahmed Makarfi and others to contend with to win the PDP presidential ticket.