http://allafrica.com/stories/201011291716.html


Talks have reached an advanced stage between the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] and the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] to produce General Muhammadu Buhari as presidential candidate of a joint CPC/ACN ticket for the 2011 elections with former Lagos State governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his running mate, top sources in both parties told Daily Trust in Abuja at the weekend. The sources denied media reports that the talks had collapsed.

High level sources in the two camps confirmed to Daily Trust the possibility of the Buhari/Tinubu ticket but said there are still challenges ahead. Our sources said that though the Tinubu associates feel the ticket is 'perfect' in view of the political strength of the two men in the North and Southwest respectively, some Buhari associates are treading cautiously to avoid compounding the 'erroneous' perception of Buhari as a religious zealot should he run on a Muslim/Muslim ticket in the election.

Some of his associates who reason against the Muslim-Muslim ticket are said to have advised that Buhari should consider picking a running mate from the Southeast. In view of this, they are said to have commenced discussions with some Igbo leaders including former vice president Alex Ekwueme. But CPC leaders who reject the Southeast running mate idea have told the General that there is at present no politician in the South East who has the standing that Asiwaju Tinubu has in the South West.

Tinubu's position was enormously enhanced in political circles by ACN's serial regaining of Edo, Ekiti and Onus states from the PDP through the courts. Even though Ondo State's Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who also toppled the PDP through the courts, officially belongs to the Labour Party, he is seen as another Tinubu ally.

A top source in the ACN who sought anonymity said the Buhari/Tinubu combination is not a serious impediment, and that Nigerians are only going to take it as "another doctrine of necessity." He said he believed that even the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN] will welcome Tinubu's candidature because of his "sense of justice to the various religions" when he was governor of Lagos State.

The source said, "Nigerians will see it as another doctrine of necessity. We must look at Bola Ahmad Tinubu as a person that is acceptable to the Christians. As a governor, he promoted harmony among all religions. I know that there is a mosque and chapel in the Lagos government house where he ruled for eight years.

I know he returned schools to missionaries, both Muslims and Christians. So I do not see that as a serious impediment. And don't forget that there are certain parts of Nigeria, the south west in particular, where religion doesn't play too much role as a factor in politics. In south west, it is more about personality."

But even if serious talks are revived between the two groups, there are a number of tricky details to contend with. For instance, going by the electoral laws, it is now too late to do a merger of political parties. The question now has to do with the nature of agreement to be entered into, and whether such an agreement will only apply to the presidential election or across board.

Buhari and his associates in the CPC have always insisted on 'alliance' that would give Buhari the presidential slot so that the ACN will produce his running mate. But the ACN had insisted on 'merger' until the time for that elapsed based on the electoral laws.

A high level source in the ACN told Daily Trust that the last thing the ACN will agree to is an 'alliance' with the CPC. The source said it does not have to be a merger so long as it is not an alliance. The fusion he said could be in a name change, "even if it is something like ACPC."

He said the ACN is sceptical about entering into a merger agreement with Buhari because many of the members still believe that he is not yet "democratically domesticated enough" to be trusted to handle an alliance of different parties after winning an election. The fear is that General may not be accessible after election.

"But if we are all in the same political party, there is always a National Executive Committee [NEC] to call him [Buhari] and say look we want this, we don't want this," he said.

It would be recalled that a group of Democratic Peoples Party [DPP] members led by 2007 presidential candidate of the party Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa had agreed with the then Action Congress [AC] and transformed into a new party, the ACN.

Meanwhile there are indications that General Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure within the CPC as a group of key supporters have told him that his only chance of ever becoming president lies in reaching some kind of understanding with a strong political group from the South, in particular the ACN.

Daily Trust learnt that the key allies have insisted that he must explore a working agreement with the ACN since the party has shown some interest in his candidature except if he wants "to go down in history as always being a candidate but never a president."

Buhari was said to have been challenged by the supporters during a meeting in Kaduna last Tuesday. Our source said the group appears to be succeeding as there are fresh moves to revive the stalled talks in order to find some common ground to work on.

Before now, Muhammadu Buhari's stiffness and possible sabotage by some of his close aides had made the CPC/ACN electoral understanding almost impossible, according to competent sources within both parties. The ACN even under its old name, Action Congress [AC] had never hidden its interest in working out an agreement with the two times presidential candidate of the opposition ANPP, now putative candidate of the newly formed CPC as a possible common front to dislodge the ruling PDP.

So far the effort has met with little success even as the national chairman of the ACN Chief Bisi Akande personally went to meet with the former military head of state on the same issue.

When contacted, Engr. Buba Galadima, member of the Board of Trustees of the CPC said the talks with CPC have never broken down as being speculated. He said the contact has moved to "a much higher level."

"There is greater understanding between both sides because we are naturally compatible; we are ideologically compatible and we firmly believe that there must be a change of regime come May 29, 2011. And we are all agreed that there is no sacrifice too much to make for that change to happen," he said.

National Director of Publicity of the ACN Alhaji Lai Mohammed who was contacted on telephone failed to respond to some critical questions but agreed that discussions are going on with various interest groups with a view to defeat the PDP in the 2o11 elections.

"Definitely I know there are still talks. These talks are not restricted to the two political parties. There are even people who are not politicians from all over Nigeria and are trying to talk to leaders of all political parties to come and save Nigeria from collapse. For it is clear that PDP cannot provide the true leadership Nigerians need," he said.

Two muslims in a secular country in 2011? One a bigot, the other a  fake muslim?
We have gone past the MKO era where that was allowed because MKO had his way with his bags of money.

And did I hear them say no politician =  Tinubu in the SE? Are they talking in their party or in general?

They have failed ab initio

They will come away with zero votes in the SE

Buhari/Tinubu beats Atiku/Igboman, I think. Atiku will lose the North to Buhari, Tinubu will deliver the SW, the Ijaws will turn against the PDP if Goodluck is defeated. So Atiku/Igboman wins where, just the SE?

Buhari/Tinubu also can very likely beat GEJ. SS/SE are not enough.

Overall, I don't mind this ticket. Tinubu is strong enough to curtail any poor tendencies of Buhari.

Buhari will probably lose to Ribadu/VP in the primaries. But a package of Buhari/Tinubu would probably do it if they were to win the primary.

^^^

You must be dreaming
Too many baggage with Tinubu
They are just testing the waters
Buhari/Tinubu aint flying even in the SW
Trust me, Tinubu is way smarter than that
At this stage, He is more of a king maker than a King
He is not running with Buhari
He knows not to run for national office; this 2011,not 1978
He barely completed his tenure in Lagos, he wont survive the scutiny into his private life; too many cobwebs in his cupboard
Too many bridges burnt already,
Tinubu/Buhari is not going to work!

Ribadu is useless as a frontliner for your ticket. Would be a decent #2, though.

I like the Buhari/Tinubu ticket a lot. Also, Tinubu is only 58 years old. 8 years from now, he would be 66. Hrm, I would have been content with just kicking the PDP out of the Southwest this cycle. But it appears that a lot more than that is possible. . .

DapoBear:

Ribadu is useless as a frontliner for your ticket. Would be a decent #2, though.

I like the Buhari/Tinubu ticket a lot. Also, Tinubu is only 58 years old. 8 years from now, he would be 66. Hrm, I would have been content with just kicking the PDP out of the Southwest this cycle. But it appears that a lot more than that is possible. . .

Who is going to vote for Tinubu, those area boys that Fashola is trying to get rid off?
Tinubu, except for when he ran for Senate, has never won any elction in Nigeria
He lost the 2003 election to Funsho Williams

Again, how is he going to deliver SW
Who is going to vote for him?

stranger:

Who is going to vote for Tinubu, those area boys that Fashola is trying to get rid off?
Tinubu, except for when he ran for Senate, has never won any elction in Nigeria
He lost the 2003 election to Funsho Williams

Again, how is he going to deliver SW
Who is going to vote for him?

Me, I dislike Tinubu but dislike Atiku even more. So I easily vote for Buhari/Tinubu over Atiku/Igboman.

I like GEJ more than I like Tinubu, but it is clear that it is quite a bit more useful if ACN captures the presidency.

You have to leave sentiment aside and think practically. This is a game of power. I'm willing to swallow any dislike I have for Buhari and Tinubu if it achieves certain objectives.

Tinubu CAN deliver the Southwest, and without rigging votes, even. Which more appealing options are there for a SWer?

Tinubu again? Who keeps making that silly suggestion? Why in the world would any politician choose to ruin his career by having Tinubu as a running mate? 

@fstranger: Think of the practical benefits. If you support this ticket and it wins, the power of the PDP is absolutely broken in the country. Not only that, but Buhari cannot become president without some southern group supporting him. If the SW supports him, then that causes the relationship between Buhari and Tinubu to be one almost of equals.

And as I said earlier, Buhari is a very old man. Tinubu on the other hand is only 58. Surely you see the possibilities here? In theory, 8 years of Buhari and then 8 years of Tinubu afterwards is highly, highly possible.

Remember, it would not be the PDP and their idiotic zoning rules calling the shots any more.

Why not at least try this ticket? We all know that Ribadu has no real chance of winning. This one can give the PDP a real run for its money. At the very least, it sucks away resources that they'd use elsewhere, maybe causing them to lose some governorships. When you fight a battle, you attack your enemy in as many ways as possible.

Also, it is becoming quite clear that the PDP primary will be a bloody (figuratively) contest. Maybe Atiku and GEJ will weaken each other so much that there will be an opening for another group to take away both of their lunches.

So is the SW now ready to play second fiddle? Dey no wan go regional, Awo-style again? I laugh in Afghanistani

hahahahahahahahahaha   . . . . . . .  In less than three months, after they have pushed Nuhu Ribadu to pick the AC presidential form, Tinubu and his gang are about to give him a dose of Yoruba style of politics - treachery.

Anyways, goodluck to Buhari/Thiefubu ticket.

^^^
It is not SW's turn to occupy Asorock
Lets be fair and practical
Tinubu does not have a home base, other than Isale-Eko
Tinubu cannot sell anywhere else, beyond, say, Lagos
The people in Ogun witll not vote for him. I'd rather vote for IBB.
You need to be in Lagos to understand what I am talking about
He is one of the most incompetent crook ever
Secondly, If you are not in PDP, you are not going to with the presidential election in Nigeria, Simple!
ACN does not have the reach yet and CPC can only try because they have Buhari on their ticket.
After the election, CPC is going to disintegrate
PDP is the only national party with the reach and national base to capture Asorock

Buhari alone enjoys more goodwill across SW, than Tinubu.  .  . fact!
There is nothing to argue here, Buhari/Tinubu ticket is not going to work.   .   . period.

Buhari and Tinubu will never get along
Tinubu does not get along with anyone, he is a narcissitic socio-path
Look him up and you will understand what I am talking about
He is not even from Lagos-State, so I doubt if he'd even be able to deliver Lagos
So many authentic Lagosians that he has betrayed in the past will work to derail his ambition

There are other options for SW, but the most important thing is that the country is not ready to have  another Yorubaman occupy Asorock come 2011. There are other ethnic groups in the south, the south is not just about SW alone.
We have to be careful here
Again no one will support Tinubu for 2011
Even his fellow ACNers will not
How is he going to deliver SW when SWers arent ready to vote for me

Is it not the same Ojuyobo Omo Alhaja that we are talking about.
Bro, forget about Tinubu, his candidacy will never sell, not to me and definitely not to Hausas and Ibos.

buhari had actually distanced himself from tinubu before, tho he didn't give reasons then.

anyway, he later claimed he was--as usual--quoted 'out of context'

Buhari needs to put an end to this nonsense. If anything, I believe if what he wants is the SW vote, he is more likely to get that running as Buhari, then he would with Tinubu as his running mate.

@fstranger: Fair enough.

DapoBear:

@fstranger: Fair enough.

No, wait and shamelessly root for a thief and certificate forger/drug pusher for a president . Not fair enough yet. As the Asiwaju of Odua, he is fit to be the president of the Becomerich brand of Nigeria.

igbobuigbo:

No, wait and shamelessly root for a thief and certificate forger/drug pusher for a president . Not fair enough yet. As the Asiwaju of Odua, he is fit to be the president of the Becomerich brand of Nigeria.

Now that is enough
At least, he is not a tribalist like you!
He allowed Joe Igbokwe to remain as Lagos ACN's party head!

Now go get me some spare parts in Alaba from Emeka.

Atiku is buddies with a disgraced Lousiana politician who was arrested and caught with enormous amounts of money hidden in his freezer. Yet he has a very good chance of winning the PDP ticket.

I don't see how Tinubu is any worse than Atiku.

If I had the choice I'd much rather pick a Buhari/Tinubu ticket over an Atiku one.

^^^

Atiku's case is not proven yet
Also, Atiku has PDM to help him clinch the Ticket

Tinubu does not have that kind of reach.
Tinubu is a well known crook; both in Nigeria and overseas

To answer your question: They are both crooks. However, Tinubu is a bigger crook than Atiku
Also, Atiku builds bridges, Tinubu burns bridges
Already, he is now at loggerheads with Ondo state governor over some stupid agreement they had before the governor assumed his post

They guy is just too much baggage
Forget about him.

If Buhari choses the right candidate from AC as his running mate, say someone like Fashola who a lot of people admire, he could win it all.
Buhari will undoubtedly sweep the majority of the North, and AC will deliver SW, EdO, a big chunk of Kwara, and part Kogi.

If Atiku wins the PDP primaries, he'll win some middle belt states and SE, and lose at least half of SS in the general elections and the rest of the nation.
Combination of Buhari and AC will definitely give PDP a good run.  This is the best option for Buhari to get the much needed Southern alliance, without it Buhari is dead in water.

The best option for PDP at this point is Jonathan, he is the only electable candidate they have.

@fstranger: What crimes did Tinubu commit that were worse than bribing a US Congressman?

Did Tinubu commit murder somewhere and escape scot free?

Anyway, I understand your point about Tinubu's temperment/influence not being what it should be. But if it is just about crimes commited, I doubt he is worse than Atiku.

BTW, have you seen pictures of Atiku's mansion in Potomac? Like I said, I doubt Tinubu is any dirtier than Atiku.

Is this  a film trick== Let see how they are going to play the game  

stranger:

^^^

Atiku's case is not proven yet
Also, Atiku has PDM to help him clinch the Ticket

Tinubu does not have that kind of reach.
Tinubu is a well known crook; both in Nigeria and overseas

To answer your question: They are both crooks. However, Tinubu is a bigger crook than Atiku
Also, Atiku builds bridges, Tinubu burns bridges
Already, he is now at loggerheads with Ondo state governor over some silly agreement they had before the governor assumed his post

They guy is just too much baggage
Forget about him.

Atiku has so many cases to anwser both domestic and international.  Both are crooks as you said, however I doubt if Tinubu is a bigger thief.
Atiku is a "multinational rogue" if such a terminology exists.

stranger:

Now that is enough
At least, he is not a tribalist like you!
He allowed Joe Igbokwe to remain as Lagos ACN's party head!

Now go get me some spare parts in Alaba from Emeka.

STFU. Do you know why he allowed Joe Igbokwe? You think Tinubu does anything for free? Why do you call me a tribalist? Because I do not support Tinubu?

reporter?:

If Buhari choses the right candidate from AC as his running mate, say someone like Fashola who a lot of people admire, he could win it all.
Buhari will undoubtedly sweep the majority of the North, and AC will deliver SW, EdO, a big chunk of Kwara, and part Kogi.

If Atiku wins the PDP primaries, he'll win some middle belt states and SE, and lose at least half of SS in the general elections and the rest of the nation.
Combination of Buhari and AC will definitely give PDP a good run.  This is the best option for Buhari to get the much needed Southern alliance, without it Buhari is dead in water.

The best option for PDP at this point is Jonathan, he is the only electable candidate they have.

I am fine with Fashola moving up too. He has a great track record, and is young enough to succeed Buhari.

Really, all I want the ACN to do is to field the strongest ticket possible. Not some weakling Ribadu ticket. If we actually fight hard, we can beat the PDP, I think. Putting out Ribadu means we aren't even trying to compete.

EDIT: Fashola is only 47 years old. Which is perfect. . .

DapoBear:

@fstranger: What crimes did Tinubu commit that were worse than bribing a US Congressman?

[b]Did Tinubu commit murder somewhere and escape scot free?[/b]Anyway, I understand your point about Tinubu's temperment/influence not being what it should be. But if it is just about crimes commited, I doubt he is worse than Atiku.

BTW, have you seen pictures of Atiku's mansion in Potomac? Like I said, I doubt Tinubu is any dirtier than Atiku.

He infact did commit murder in Lagos state, so many innocent victims killed that he got away with.
The guy is ruthless.

He is a drug baron. Made his money from drugs
He is very well known in the Chicago area.  .  .  Google Tinubu drug and read the FBI report on him.

Have you seen pictures of Tinubu's mansions in Nigeria.
Tinubu is a pig. Like I said, he wouldnt survive the scrutiny on his private life

Did you not remember how Gani Fawehinmi almost derailed his tenure as governor of Lagos-State?
Even his partner incrime, Afikuyomi, will advise you not to run with him
No sane politician will run with Tinubu. None! Nada!.

Everything about him is fake
If Tinubu tells you something, best not believe it. Nothing about his true.

He does not even know who his mother is?
Always lying, and he is a woman beater as well

So many baggage.
Again forget about Tinubu

igbobuigbo:

STFU. Do you know why he allowed Joe Igbokwe? You think Tinubu does anything for free?

Tell my why, Oracle.

DapoBear:

I am fine with Fashola moving up too. He has a great track record, and is young enough to succeed Buhari.

Really, all I want the ACN to do is to field the strongest ticket possible. Not some weakling Ribadu ticket. If we actually fight hard, we can beat the PDP, I think. Putting out Ribadu means we aren't even trying to compete.

EDIT: Fashola is only 47 years old. Which is perfect. . .

Buhari/AC combination is the best for Nigeria.  Nigeria's biggest bane is corruption, and Buhari has been proven to be incorruptible.
If Buhari runs with a formidable AC candidate, I am convinced they could win.  

Ribadu will also be a major player in that government should they win.  As you noted, he is not yet electable.
Anyway, I doubt if Tinubu will want to run as Buhari's VP,  he knows he comes with some baggage that may hinder their chances at the general elections.
Fashola is the magic they need to sweep the rug under PDP's feet.

reporter?:


Anyway, I doubt if Tinubu will want to run as Buhari's VP,  he knows he comes with some baggage that may hinder their chances at the general elections.
Fashola is the magic they need to sweep the rug under PDP's feet.

correction -- a lot of Baggage.

Fashola has made it clear that he has no intentions of running.

stranger:

He infact did commit murder in Lagos state, so many innocent victims killed that he got away with.
The guy is ruthless.

He is a drug baron. Made his money from drugs
He is very well known in the Chicago area.  .  .  Google Tinubu drug and read the FBI report on him.

Have you seen pictures of Tinubu's mansions in Nigeria.
Tinubu is a pig. Like I said, he wouldnt survive the scrutiny on his private life

Did you not remember how Gani Fawehinmi almost derailed his tenure as governor of Lagos-State?
Even his partner incrime, Afikuyomi, will advise you not to run with him
No sane politician will run with Tinubu. None! Nada!.

Everything about him is fake
If Tinubu tells you something, best not believe it. Nothing about his true.

He does not even know who his mother is?
Always lying, and he is a woman beater as well

So many baggage.
Again forget about Tinubu

I googled and read. It looks like he laundered money. But he was intelligent enough not to get directly involved. He was just the guy washing the money clean. He didn't sell the drugs himself, probably didn't even consume it. I don't see how money laundering is any worse than bribing US Congressmen.
Tinubu was never jailed, and still visits the US. If he were indeed wanted by the US, he'd have been arrests or locked up. Like I said, he was very clever in ensuring that he wasn't involved in a way that could be tied directly to him.

Anyway, if he has all those other personality flaws and commited murder in Lagos, then sure, he is not suitable. But nobody can tell me that money laundering is worse than bribing a US congressman.

Ruthlessness in and of itself is no sin. Nigeria is a jungle that requires ruthlessness and cunning to survive and prosper in.

stranger:

Tell my why, Oracle.

You, Hitler himself, calls me a tribalist? Wonders shall never end.