BY DAMOLA EMMANUEL
Gombe State Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, has joined the growing list of presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The Governor took to his twitter handle, Saturday, to make the announcement. He is the sixth aspirant to throw his cap into the ring on PDP’s platform.
Others are: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, Alhaji Sule Lamido, former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, another ex-Jigawa Governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, former Kaduna State Governor, and Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, former Sokoto State Governor.
There were strong indications, at the time of filing this report, that at least three other PDP bigwigs may join the struggle for the party’s presidential ticket. They include recent returnee, Senator Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Kano State Governor, and Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Governor of Sokoto State.
Prior to his declaration, Saturday, Governor Dankwambo, a former Accountant-General of the Federation, had addressed and canvassed the support of the party’s delegates from the North East geo-political zone, where he said the ticket had been zoned to.
At the meeting held at the new Banquet Hall of the Government House, Gombe, the governor disclosed that wide-range consultations were ongoing, ahead of the party primary, for the PDP to pick its candidate from the North East geo-political zone.
“We have been making consultations,” Dankwabo told the audience. “Consultations are ongoing. We felt this time around, our zone should be given the opportunity to conduct and preside over the affairs of the country.
“We have sent delegations to various zones so that they can have the taste of the North East this time. On this note, I think all of us in this room are on the same page. Do we continue to lobby that North East should produce the next president of this country?”
The audience roared in unison: “Yes”.