A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State and former Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Ambassador Adebayo Yusuf has commended Mallam Adamu  Ciroma and members of the Northern Consensus search team for nominating former  Vice President Atiku Abubakar as consensus candidate for the north.

He also recommended the consensus model adopted by the north to pick its candidate for the PDP presidential primaries to other parts of the country. The ambassador praised former President Ibrahim Babangida and the two other  presidential aspirants who dropped out of the race in deference to the northern consensus team for their sacrifice.Ambassador Yusuf said the northern political leaders have demonstrated that the Nigerian political elite can rise above personal interest to sacrifice for the development of the country.

“The choice of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the northern consensus candidate is another confirmation of the strength of Atiku as a politician. He is one of the foremost democrats in the country. He is also the most experienced to be president after serving as Vice President for eight years. Atiku also fought for the sustenance of democracy when he fought against  the attempt to amend the constitution and breach the democratic right of Nigerians to elect leaders of their choice at regular intervals.

“We are not surprised that he emerged the consensus candidate. With him, the presidential ticket of the PDP will go to the north and keep the zoning arrangement of the party alive. Atiku has extensive network of admirers across the country and there is no doubt that he will win the PDP presidential ticket.

Speaking on the South West and the northern consensus candidate, Ambassador Yusuf said the South West will support  Atiku because he initiated the bringing of the South West into the mainstream of national politics in 2003.He said Atiku has also demonstrated good faith with the people of the South West when he stepped down for Chief MKO Abiola in  1993 at the SDP national Convention in Jos .He said Atiku again demonstrated his love for the people of the South West when he mobilised the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in 1999 to support General Olusegun Obasanjo to be the presidential ticket of the PDP.

 Ambassador Yusuf stated that the Yorubas “always repay good with good” and will therefore eagerly support Atiku to win the PDP presidential ticket.“Atiku enjoys strong following in the south west since the days of General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. He has never lost touch with the people of the zone and we shall surely support him because we are eager to be part of the winning team”,he  concluded.

Some prominent Nigerians have also spoken strongly in favour of Atiku and the process that produced him as a consensus

candidate ,a clear indication that there is mounting support for the vice president in his bid to win the PDP primaries and ultimately become president in 2011.

For instance, prominent Northern politician and former Ambassador Yahaya Kwande today criticized the needless 

attacks on the 17-member Malam Adamu Ciroma Committee for successfully producing a consensus candidate in 

the person of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

In a statement issued in Jos, Plateau State, Kwande said he was surprised why anyone should attack Ciroma for 

doing a job which many people had thought was  impossible.According to him, Malam Adamu Ciroma is a 

credible man who cannot involve himself in anything unless he is convinced the cause is morally defensible.

He explained that integrity is Ciroma’s middle name, which explains why he left untainted public service career. 

Alhaji Kwande noted that Ciroma does not need a lesson about national unity, recalling that during the 1999 Jos 

national convention of the PDP, he stood behind Dr. Alex Ekwueme of the South-East to be the presidential 

candidate of the PDP.

The Jos based politician accused Ciroma’s critics of insincerity and hypocrisy. He said in 1999, the late Chief

 Abraham Adesanya, Chief Olanihun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Senator Ayo Fasoranti were appointed to 

select a presidential candidate for the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and they endorsed Chief Olu Falae.He asked 

why Ciroma’s critics didn’t accuse the four Yoruba elders of being undemocratic for settling on Chief Olu Falae.

“Chief Olu Falae was massively voted  for by the South-West based on the 

recommendation of the Yoruba elders,” he argued.The former Ambassador advised critics to always have retentive 

memories to avoid the risk of exposing their insincerity.

“With all the other aspirants embracing the choice of Atiku by the Ciroma  Committee, why can’t these critics

 leave Ciroma alone,” he queried. He argued that if Ciroma’s critics had the honour to put the unity of Nigeria 

before personal ambition, the consensus option would not have been necessary. He blamed selfishness and 

opportunism for dragging Nigeria to the current level of frightening polarization.

Also,a  University don and an Igbo politician, Dr Joe Umezinwa,  has called on Igbo politicians of South-east 

extraction to emulate the Adamu Ciroma-led Committee and the northern politicians who have subsumed their

 individual ambitions in the interest of the larger group and peace in the country.

The scholar ,who spoke yesterday in his  Awka country home while fielding questions from media men said,

 “I have confidence that Igbo Political elites will copy the consensus option of Mallam Adamu Ciroma-led 

Committee and the four presidential candidates in resolving so many bickering and infighting that bedeviled 

our people in the contest for political power.”

“It is also important that our political office seekers will learn the lesson in humility displayed by the 3 other

 prominent aspirants and the large-heartedness and broadmindedness of Atiku Abubakar.These Nigerians have

 shown that the political philosophy of the late Waziri Ibrahim, who preached Politics without Bitterness

 throughout his life time, is still alive in Nigeria and particularly, among northerners,” he said.