big boost has come for President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s second term as it has emerged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors have thrown their weight behind the alleged bid.
Chairman of the Governors Forum and Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki confirmed the PDP governors’ support for the President’s second term in an interview with THISDAY on Tuesday night in Abuja.
Saraki also denied that he was nursing a plan to contest the 2011 presidential election.
The revelation on the PDP governors’ support emerged just as the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Muhammed Abba Aji, said categorically yesterday that Yar’Adua would run for a second term.
It has also emerged that President Yar’Adua has informed the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) of his plan to seek a second term in office.
THISDAY learnt that Yar’Adua told the board that his plan was to use two years to properly study the situation on ground in the country and use six years to implement his programmes.
The Kwara State governor told THISDAY that Yar’Adua has the constitutional powers to go for a second term and PDP governors are supporting him in the move.
He said the governors support derive from the fact that the President had demonstrated that he has the vision, sincerity and determination to put the country in the right direction.
“He is honest we believe in him, he is focused and reliable,” he said.
The governor denied the allegation that he was positioning himself for Presidency since his term as governor ends in two years time.
He said those not comfortable with his relationship with the President must have felt they could distort it by carrying out such a ‘wicked rumour’ about his alleged presidential ambition.
Saraki said he was not surprised at the rumour since, according to him, there is a lot of mischief in politics, pointing out that some would even go as far as printing posters of him running for the presidency.
“Am preoccupied with the Kwara challenge,” he said.
On whether the support of the PDP governors for Yar’Adua reflects the views and feelings of their people across the country, the governor responded in the affirmative, saying Yar’Adua has done well in trying to put the country on the right path to greatness.
He said whatever feeling the citizen may have of the President must be due to the fact that his style was different from that of the previous administration, adding that “what is important is that he is focused”.
Very soon the country would begin to feel the impact of the Yar’Adua government, he said.
Saraki also said that contrary to reports that the North is opposed to Yar’ Adua’s second term, the support for him in the geo-political zone is total.
“I can assure you that the political leadership in the north is solidly behind Yar’Adua. We believe he is focused, he is sincere, he is honest, he is committed in moving Nigeria forward,” he said.
He dismissed the talk of the President’s alleged ill-health as a possible barrier to Yar’Adua’s ambition, pointing out that the report on the President’s health was in the realm of speculation derived largely from his style of not allowing himself to be involved in the noise of politics.
“The President feels that he has a job and would not want to exert the energy that should be channeled to the work to attend to the noise of second term,” he said.
The governor defended Yar’Adua’s approach to fighting corruption, saying the President was battling corruption not through making noise on the pages of newspapers.
He said if Nigerians must appreciate Yar’Adua’s crusade against corruption they must separate the question of style from the issue.
The governor also explained why the Governors backed the government’s deregulation policy, saying it was not a show of insensitivity but a determined move to save the sector from the hands of very few Nigerians who have been exploiting the people.
According to him, over $638billion spent on subsidising fuel yearly goes into the hands of very few people.
“This is twice the capital of the country, we can’t just be enriching 10 to 20 Nigerians in the name of subsidy,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters has told THISDAY in Abuja that a second term in office for the President is a foregone conclusion.
He said: “I can give you a categorical position on this and you can quote me anywhere: Mr. President is going for second term. There is no doubt about this.
“The constitution allows it and our founding fathers have provided two terms for the president in the constitution because the problems of this country are enormous and you cannot achieve all the things set out within four years.
“Four years is usually enough for you to determine the problems, to lay the plans, the structure and the strategy for the achievement, which includes financial planning, that is budgeting, but for implementation to be concluded and for effects to begin to be realized, of course, you need a second term, which is why the founding fathers provided two terms.
“So, yes, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is going for a second term. There is no doubt about this. Anybody who thinks that the president is not going for a second term is not thinking the truth simply.”
Meanwhile, former House of Representatives Speaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba has denied that he is part of any clandestine meeting aimed at stopping Yar’Adua from getting re-elected in 2011.
Na’Abba said he would in due course make public his position on the alleged second term bid of the President.
In THISDAY’s report of last Monday, Na’Abba was named among those meeting to plot against Yar’Adua’ second term.
But he said last night that if there was anything he would do or planned to do against Yar’Adua’s re-election bid, it would not be in collaboration with the politicians listed along with him in the story.
According to him, such caliber of politicians “are not principled in any way and I have never been part of them”.
Na’Abba stated further: “These people have never invited me to any of their meetings and I never discussed Yar’Adua with any of them in my life. And if I want to participate in any organisation that will accomplish what these people want to achieve, I will be bold enough to stand by it. My stand on Yar’Adua was stated a few months ago in the interview I granted THISDAY.”
In that interview, Na’Abba had criticised Yar’Adua for being too sluggish for a country like Nigeria that should be in hurry to catch up with other nations that have made progress.
The issue of second term for Yar’Adua had left the rumour mill to the front burner last month when the former BoT Chairman, Chief Anthony Anenih, prayed at a public function attended by both Yar’Adua and Atiku that God should grant the President good health to enable him complete his remaining two years and his second term.
Later Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Adamu Aliero said categorically that President Yar’Adua would run for a second term.
Reports of plan by some northern group to frustrate this move have also been debunked by some Yar’Adua loyalists including Aliero and Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido who said any such move would fail.
The PDP leadership has also endorsed Yar’Adua for second term saying his seven-point agenda was designed for eight years

[/quote]THISDAY learnt that Yar’Adua told the board that his plan was to use two years to properly study the situation on ground in the country and use six years to implement his programmes.[quote]

It is only in Nigeria thats this statement is possible. foolish statement