Northern Govs, Political Leaders Move To Float New Party Ahead 2015 Elections

According to a report by SUNDAY PUNCH, northern governors, and other
senior politicians in the region, may float a new political party.
The report says the move is geared towards returning power to the
region in 2015.
The option of floating a new political party is one of three available
to the northern political leaders as permutations and political horse
trading heighten ahead the 2015 general elections.
The newspaper quotes a source familiar with the planas saying that the
region would not allow itself to be used and dumped in the manner
"Nuhu Ribadu was dumped by the Action Congress of Nigeria during the
2011 elections."
This calculation it was learntmight not be unconnected with
speculations that Ribadu, the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission and the presidential candidate of the ACN
in the 2011 election,was victim of a deal between his party's power
brokers and those of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to
speak to the press, said, "The reality of our current political
isolation is not lost on us here in the North.
"I believe also we have learnt a thing or two from the brand of
politics which led to the set up of Nuhu Ribadu by the ACN during the
2011 elections.
"If by any chance we allow that kind of thing to happen again, then we
are doomed. There are three options before us and we are considering
them seriously.
"One: remain in the PeoplesDemocratic Party where we are almost
certain that President Goodluck Jonathan will impose himself on the
party; for those who may have forgotten, this was done in the last
Nigeria Governors' Forum election. Don't forgetthat some of the
northern governors are facing expulsion threats from PDP.
"Two: join the All Progressives Congress to defeat the PDP or three:
float a fresh political platform altogether. For those who think the
third option is a long shot, I suggest they should think again because
the Congress for Progressive Change would have been the party to beat
today but for some tactical blunders.
"Politics is a game of numbers; we have the numbers as well as the
political sagacity to build bridges across ethnic and religious
divides, we have done it before, we can do it again."