• Latest
  • Trending
How Obasanjo silenced frontrunners to anoint Yar’Adua  PDP presidential candidate- Former  Senate President

How Obasanjo silenced frontrunners to anoint Yar’Adua PDP presidential candidate- Former Senate President

10 months ago
Police recover 20 corpses from Edo shrine, arrest three

Police recover 20 corpses from Edo shrine, arrest three

24 mins ago
U-20 WWC: Falconets face Netherlands in quarter final

U-20 WWC: Falconets face Netherlands in quarter final

45 mins ago
Again, FG bans Emirates airline from Nigeria

Emirates Airlines suspends flights to Nigeria over trapped revenue

1 hour ago
FG explains delay in meeting 5,000MW power target

FG explains delay in meeting 5,000MW power target

2 hours ago
Amosun rejected reconciliation moves with Abiodun, Ogun   APC replies senator

Amosun rejected reconciliation moves with Abiodun, Ogun APC replies senator

3 hours ago
Nigerians to pay more for electricity from April- NERC

JUST IN: Electricity workers suspend strike after minister’s intervention

14 hours ago
Tinubu meets Obasanjo over presidential bid

Why I visited Ogun- Tinubu

16 hours ago
Ogun PDP guber ticket: I’ll fight  to the end- Showunmi

Ogun PDP guber ticket: I’ll fight to the end- Showunmi

17 hours ago
Anxiety in Kwankwaso’s NNPP as Shekarau mulls exit

Kwankwaso: Why NNPP couldn’t fulfill all agreement with Shekarau

17 hours ago
Blasphemy: Appeal Court orders retrial of Kano singer sentenced to death

Blasphemy: Appeal Court orders retrial of Kano singer sentenced to death

19 hours ago
Four students celebrating WASSCE completion drown at Lagos beach

Four students celebrating WASSCE completion drown at Lagos beach

20 hours ago
Rape: Court grants Nollywood actor, Moses Armstrong bail

Actor Moses Armstrong breaks silence over rape allegation

22 hours ago
Tinubu meets Obasanjo over presidential bid

Tinubu meets Obasanjo over presidential bid

22 hours ago
Peter Okoye knocks ‘jobless graduates’ for supporting ‘corrupt leaders’

Peter Okoye knocks ‘jobless graduates’ for supporting ‘corrupt leaders’

23 hours ago
Aggrieved politicians sponsoring militants to make Imo ungovernable -Uzodinma

What is behind Imo attacks – Uzodinma

1 day ago
CORRECTED: Lagos govt must prove Sunday Dare, Tinubu’s son don’t control toll gates- Bode George

Bode George: Why Ayu should resign

1 day ago
ASUU accuses FG of blackmail, postpones strike  decision

Strike continues as ASUU, FG meeting deadlocked

1 day ago
How BEDC lost N750m in one month– MD

How BEDC lost N750m in one month– MD

2 days ago
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Newspeakonline
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak ExclusivesNew
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak ExclusivesNew
No Result
View All Result
Newspeak
UBA
Home News

How Obasanjo silenced frontrunners to anoint Yar’Adua PDP presidential candidate- Former Senate President

Akinwande Soji-Ojo by Akinwande Soji-Ojo
October 13, 2021
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
242 15
0
How Obasanjo silenced frontrunners to anoint Yar’Adua  PDP presidential candidate- Former  Senate President
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Telegram

Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, has narrated how former President Olusegun Obasanjo “hounded” frontrunners on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to “anoint” Umaru Yar’Adua as the party’s presidential candidate in 2006.

RelatedPosts

Why I visited Ogun- Tinubu

Tinubu meets Obasanjo over presidential bid

Obasanjo: Everything I’ve done in my life is by accident

Yar’Adua succeeded Obasanjo as the president of Nigeria in 2007.

Yar’Adua later died in office, with Goodluck Jonathan succeeding him.

FeedWell

In his about to be released book, ‘Standing Strong: Legislative Reforms, Third Term and Other Issues of the 5th Senate,’ Nnamani narrated how “all serious contenders” vying for PDP presidential ticket in the 2007 elections were “hounded out of the way or convinced to withdraw.”

According to him, former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, was “the most prepared of the lot for the ticket,” but suddenly there was a “skeleton in his cupboard, about the EFCC and some documents.”

The former Senate President, who led the red chamber between April 2005 and May 2007, also recounted how Obasanjo rejected former governor of Kaduna State,Ahmed Makarfi, because he “was too intelligent to be controlled.”

“But of those who ran for the [PDP presidential] ticket, Governors Ahmed Markarfi of Kaduna State and Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa were the more prominent. Governor Markarfi is a brilliant accountant from North West State of Kaduna, and had the reputation of being a gentleman and was the candidate of many of his brother governors in the PDP for the presidential ticket.

“In an interview granted in 2017, Chief Ayo Fayose, who was the Governor of Ekiti State during the third term period revealed that Markarfi was the preferred candidate of a committee set up by the president to find a suitable flagbearer for the party. Fayose, who was chairman of that presidential committee, claimed that Obasanjo rejected the choice of Markarfi because he felt the governor was too intelligent to be controlled.

“In the end, the list of contenders tapered out to 12 candidates who ran for the party’s ticket. They included Governor Yar’Adua, Chief Rochas Okorocha, General Aliyu Gusau (Rtd), Professor Jerry Gana, General Buba Marwa (Rtd), Navy Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (Rtd), Late Admiral Mike Akhigbe (Rtd), Chief Albert Horsfall, Mrs Sarah Jubril, Chief Ralph Uwechue, Andreas Sawa and General Mamman Kontagora (Rtd). None of those generally regarded as front liners for the ticket was on the card. After the vote, Yar’Adua was declared the winner with 3,024 votes out of a total of 4,101 votes. In the end, the Presidency’s will was done, as all those who stood a chance had been either silenced or run out of the party.

“As I watched the proceedings of the PDP presidential primaries for the 2007 elections in Eagle Square that day, the evidence of an inverted and corrupted democracy was all too clear. The party members – the contestants and the delegates – making their way to the arena to cast their votes were just following the motions to give the impression of democracy in action. It was clear to anyone who had been following the events of recent weeks that the whole process at the Eagle Square that day was a charade because the outcome of the election had been predetermined. All serious contenders for that election had either been hounded out of the way or ‘convinced to withdraw. Governor Yar’Adua was the anointed of President Obasanjo,” Nnamani wrote.

What's Your Reaction?

  • LolLol
    0
    Lol
  • OMGOMG
    0
    OMG
  • AngryAngry
    1
    Angry
  • LoveLove
    0
    Love
  • CuteCute
    0
    Cute
  • WinWin
    0
    Win
  • CryCry
    0
    Cry

Related

Tags: NnamaniObasanjoSenate PresidentYar'Adua
Previous Post

FG seeks 74 medical specialists for deployment to Guinea Bissau (SEE HOW TO APPLY)

Next Post

Sunday Igboho critically ill, needs urgent medical attention-Lawyer

RecentPosts

Police recover 20 corpses from Edo shrine, arrest three

Police recover 20 corpses from Edo shrine, arrest three

August 18, 2022
FG explains delay in meeting 5,000MW power target

FG explains delay in meeting 5,000MW power target

August 18, 2022
Nigerians to pay more for electricity from April- NERC

JUST IN: Electricity workers suspend strike after minister’s intervention

August 17, 2022
Blasphemy: Appeal Court orders retrial of Kano singer sentenced to death

Blasphemy: Appeal Court orders retrial of Kano singer sentenced to death

August 17, 2022
Four students celebrating WASSCE completion drown at Lagos beach

Four students celebrating WASSCE completion drown at Lagos beach

August 17, 2022
Peter Okoye knocks ‘jobless graduates’ for supporting ‘corrupt leaders’

Peter Okoye knocks ‘jobless graduates’ for supporting ‘corrupt leaders’

August 17, 2022
Aggrieved politicians sponsoring militants to make Imo ungovernable -Uzodinma

What is behind Imo attacks – Uzodinma

August 17, 2022
ASUU accuses FG of blackmail, postpones strike  decision

Strike continues as ASUU, FG meeting deadlocked

August 17, 2022
Next Post
JUST IN: FG mulls fresh charges against Igboho

Sunday Igboho critically ill, needs urgent medical attention-Lawyer

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Newspeakonline

© 2020 Newspeak & Associates
Optimized by IChannelTech.

Navigate Site

  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Interview
  • Newpeak Magazine
  • Newspeak Exclusives
  • Politics

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak Exclusives

© 2020 Newspeak & Associates
Optimized by IChannelTech.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Newspeak We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
Dismiss
Allow Notifications