[size=18pt] Governor Babangida dumps IBB[/size]
…Northern Governors Split



Niger State Governor and Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, NGF, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, an arrow head of pro-Northern Presidency has made a last minute change of heart. He has dumped General Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential campaign, preferring to pitch his tent with President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2011 presidential election.
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Governor Aliyu was hitherto a die-hard supporter of General Babangida who had boasted that Niger State will produce the next civilian President in 2011.

More Northern Governors are expected to jump ship before Saturday’s declaration date for President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambition.

The Northern Governors Forum is currently divided because of Governor Aliyu’s new position and Governor Bukola Saraki’s ambition to contest the 2011 presidential election, Pointblanknews.com was reliably informed.

Sources hinted Pointblanknews.com that while Governor Saraki is not seen as a Northerner by some northern Governors even though he belongs to the Northern Governors, Governor Aliyu’s volte face, is considered a betrayal of the forum’s agitation for a Northern Presidency in 2011.

“Saraki is not a Northerner so if he is running, he represents the South-West but for Aliyu, he has just betrayed us once again, a Northern Governor told Pointblanknews.com

Governor Aliyu’s new romance with President Jonathan’s camp is a boost to the incumbent’s desire to contest the 2011 Presidential election going by the stiff opposition his ambition is receiving in northern Nigeria.

General Babangida was said to been shocked about the Governor’s change of heart. He quickly dashed over to Governor Aliyu in what was termed an “idil Filtri visit” and was assured all was well. But sources close to the Governor insisted that “he has switched camp and I can assure you this is real and concrete.”

Sources told Pointblanknews.com that Governor Aliyu’s last minute change of heart may not be unconnected with his fears of losing his return ticket ahead of the Governorship election.

“You know the Governor wants to run for a re election and IBB cannot guarantee that. The only person who can guarantee his return ticket is Jonathan so you can understand where he is coming from,” a source in Niger State who would not want to be named told Pointblanknews.com

The source added “In politics, there are no permanent friends but interest and so the Governor has an interest and whoever can guarantee his interest that is where his allegiance lies and there is nothing illegal or wrong about that politically.”

Pointblanknews.com sources hinted that in the last couple of weeks, Governor Aliyu and some Northern Governors have been paying frequent visit to the president in what was described as “an assurance of support” for President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambition.

The Northern Governors forum, chaired by Governor Aliyu has also become divided following the decision of some of the Governors to back down on their agitation for power to be retained by the North.

According to a source “all is no longer well with the Northern Governors because everyone is now fighting for his interest and survival. This is a very critical time and from the look of things, the division will remain until after the elections in 2011


http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os3880.html

If this isn't a rumour, then its some really heavy sh it!!!

It is a lie I sincerely doubt the story

this is wat it is,a rumour

cold:

this is wat it is,a rumour

madejibo:

It is a lie I sincerely doubt the story

Sorry to burst you 2's bubble but he wants to come back as governor so "A MAN'S GOTTA DO WHAT A MAN'S GOTTA DO"

chyz:

Sorry to burst you 2's bubble but he wants to come back as governor so "A MAN'S GOTTA DO WHAT A MAN'S GOTTA DO"

CORRECT!!!

madejibo:

It is a lie I sincerely doubt the story

This is politics. . . Do u want him to support ibb and lose everything?

Babangida bullshittin' a fellow babangida

lol. . . Ibb is as good as dead

Wise move

I laugh in chineese because how did babangida aliyu get there in the 1st place if not for Ibb he can't mess ibb up o! This is not south west that u can just ditch anyone anyhow. If he supports IBB his position is still guaranteed because he is a sitting gov and pdp can not afford to loose a sitting governor they (pdp) wants to loose dat state men! He can't ditch IBB now. I know things like this men

If it is not a rumour, then it is a serious heartbreak for Ibb

IBB has just gotten someone who can dribble more than he does!

GEJ should open his eyes and walk cautiously, there is nothing to celebrate here for now. In war deception is a key weapon. nuff said.

na_so:

GEJ should open his eyes and walk cautiously, there is nothing to celebrate here for now. In war deception is a key weapon. nuff said.

Better drill it into the skull of your political naivete brother. . . . . .

Even uinconfirmed report dat obj ll ditch jonathan and support ibb and even GEJ might never declare so just sit back and relax, don't joke with ibb it is someone u ll hate to love

madejibo:

Even uinconfirmed report dat obj ll ditch jonathan and support ibb and even GEJ might never declare so just sit back and relax, don't joke with ibb it is someone u ll hate to love

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6 www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6 www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

if not rumour, dats interesting~!

This is purely a birthday gift for me if true but I doubt it seriously. I expect Babangida to go down with Banbangida against all odds

Fire on the mountain

How exactly is this a bad thing for IBB camp? I mean the governor is a mere Governor and he does not control the votes in his state . . . even he has to lobby to get re-elected by his constituents. So, again, how is this a major blow to the IBB cause?

Kobojunkie:

How exactly is this a bad thing for IBB camp? I mean the governor is a mere Governor and he does not control the votes in his state . . . even he has to lobby to get re-elected by his constituents. So, again, how is this a major blow to the IBB cause?

If this is true it is definitely bad news for IBB's camp. The governor obviously controls at least part of the state structure and the idea of loosing his own state governor' support is a major blow.

yeswecan:

If this is true it is definitely bad news for IBB's camp. The governor obviously controls at least part of the state structure and the idea of loosing his own state governor' support is a major blow.

Do you mind explaining that? The governor controls part of the state structure means what then to IBB votes? I don't get it at all. I mean if this had happened in, say the US, then I would understand how it is truly bad news because people do respect the views of their governors to some extent here, but in Nigeria, you would have to do a better job convincing me that there is even something to worry about there.

Kobojunkie:

How exactly is this a bad thing for IBB camp? I mean the governor is a mere Governor and he does not control the votes in his state . . . even he has to lobby to get re-elected by his constituents. So, again, how is this a major blow to the IBB cause?

You'd have been right if the votes counted, but they don't. About three days ago, Godswill Akpabio was promising Jonathan the whole votes from Akwa Ibom! Now that is not a gaffe.

slap1:

You'd have been if the votes counted, but they don't. About three days ago, Godswill Akpabio was promising Jonathan the whole votes from Akwa Ibom! Now that is not a gaffe.

I believe it is quite clear at this point that people like Godswill Akpabio have mouth but cannot back it up with much else. Consider the fact that even he has to go pay off the Godfathers to get himself re-elected. So how can he promise and deliver on what he does not even have that much power over?

Kobojunkie:

How exactly is this a bad thing for IBB camp? I mean the governor is a mere Governor  and he does not control the votes in his state . . . even he has to lobby to get re-elected by his constituents. So, again, how is this a major blow to the IBB cause?

you really need to come to Nigeria and learn how things work. . .your ignorance is just too unbearable

Kobojunkie:

Do you mind explaining that? The governor controls part of the state structure means what then to IBB votes? I don't get it at all. I mean if this had happened in, say the US, then I would understand how it is truly bad news because people do respect the views of their governors to some extent here, but in Nigeria, you would have to do a better job convincing me that there is even something to worry about there.

At least Some PDP delegates in the states have to be loyal to the governor, I know IBB is powerful but Governor Babangida has his own people. Secondly, the idea of loosing his state governor will reduce his changes of grabbing the PDP ticket because not only PDP governor controls the presidential primary but also it is a sign of weakness in IBB’s camp.

~Bluetooth:

you really need to come to Nigeria and learn how things work. . .your ignorance is just too unbearable

I hate to break it to you this way . . . but maybe you ought to do some brainwork on what you get from the papers, rather than swallowing it all hookline and sinker like the millions of people who LIVE IN Nigeria do daily and continue to wonder why they have not yet figured out what the game is about to this point.

Using one's head, it is not hard to figure out at this point that Governors do not necessarily control the vote rigging in their states. Even Fashola has no power to rig himself back into government without the approval and backing of his party members. It works in much similar way in most every other state, no matter who is being voted for. We saw it happen last year with Ekiti. So, why are we still playing the WE ARE STILL BLIND TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS game?

yeswecan:

At least Some PDP delegates in the states have to be loyal to the governor, I know IBB is powerful but Governor Babangida has his own people. Secondly, the idea of loosing his state governor will reduce his changes of grabbing the PDP ticket because not only PDP governor controls the presidential primary but also it is a sign of weakness in IBB’s camp.

Are you sure within the PDP circle, loyalty at the state level matters for much? Remember Orji and how loyalty did not help in his case? It seems more the case that the decision in each PDP State comes from above and not from within that particular state, so why would a state level PDP member make decisions to affect the political ambitions of a higher level PDP delegate?

Kobojunkie:

I hate to break it to you this way . . . but maybe you ought to do some brainwork on what you get from the papers, rather than swallowing it all hookline and sinker like the millions of people who LIVE IN Nigeria do daily and continue to wonder why they have not yet figured out what the game is about to this point.

Using one's head, it is not hard to figure out at this point that Governors do not necessarily control the vote rigging in their states. Even Fashola has no power to rig himself back into government without the approval and backing of his party members. It works in much similar way in most every other state, no matter who is being voted for. We saw it happen last year with Ekiti. So, why are we still playing the WE ARE STILL BLIND TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS game?

if governors do not control their states,who will ? the idea is to have control of the party exco right from the ward level to the state leve.so i see no

reason why you should think state governor is not powerful enough to jeopardize ibb's aspiration.

~Bluetooth:

if governors do not control their states,who will ? the idea is to have control of the party exco right from the ward level to the state leve.so i see no

reason why you should think state governor is not powerful enough to jeopardize ibb's aspiration.

The next time you are in Nigeria, take time to ASK people if Governor's really do control the votes in their states cause from the above it is all too obvious you are not really in tune with what really happens down in Nigeria.

Kobojunkie:


Are you sure within the  PDP circle, loyalty at the state level matters for much? Remember Orji and how loyalty did not help in his case? It seems more the case that the decision in each PDP State comes from above and not from within that particular state, so why would a state level PDP member make decisions to affect the political ambitions of a higher level PDP delegate?

Why do you think Goodluck Jonathan goes about begging state governors to support his ambition?  Let me tell you this, the governors in PDP are in control of everything within their states -delegate wise- PDP primaries is a voting method from every state and the governors control the machineries in the state. If IBB can get majority of PDP governors to support him Goodluck Jonathan will be done as far as PDP is concern.

yeswecan:

Why do you think Goodluck Jonathan goes about begging state governors to support his ambition? 

I don't think you can use goodluck as example here. For one this is a man that has never really won an election himself so what makes you think he has it all figured out? Did Yar adua or Obasanjo do the very same thing during the 2007 primaries? That ought to be the question instead.

yeswecan:

Let me tell you this, the governors in PDP are in control of everything within their states -delegate wise- PDP primaries is a voting method from every state and the governors control the machineries in the state. If IBB can get majority of PDP governors to support him Goodluck Jonathan will be done as far as PDP is concern.

NO, the PDP Governors have never been in control of the votes in their states. The people do not vote the way the governors want so we can safely say that is one out of the way. When it comes to rigging, the Governors can move to rig but success still depends on the backing they have from PDP members. We all know that it is no longer enough to rig the votes, but also get INEC to endorse the count. So, no matter how the PDP Governor chooses on his own to Rig, if INEC refuses it, it is of no value.

Now to the national level, it is possible that PDP Governors get a say in who the party candidate will be next, but I seriously doubt their vote counts for so much considering the events of the last primaries. I am more than certain that Yar adua did not get the backing of many of the Governors but he still came up as candidate for the party. IN the past couple of weeks, we have definitely seen some of these governors bounce back and forth on this issue, so I am still not willing to read much into this news considering the situation in Nigeria is QUITE DIFFERENT from that in other developed and civilized countries where this sort of this matters.

Kobojunkie:

The next time you are in Nigeria, take time to ASK people if Governor's really do control the votes in their states cause from the above it is all too obvious you are not really in tune with what really happens down in Nigeria.

Most pdp governors control their states and it stemmed from the obasanjo regime when he was being addressed as the leader of the party at

the detriment of Ahmadu Ali who was the chairman of the party and that has been adopted by the pdp-controlled states governors who see themselves as the

de facto controller of the soul of the party and that is why you can see the likes of Akpabio struggling with Attah and Daniel fighting obj.