THE emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the North's consensus candidate has thrown the President Goodluck Jonathan's political camp into wild jubilation, it was learnt Monday.
(http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/thumbnail.php?file=NIPSS_with_the_President_118967943.jpg&size=article_medium)
Besides, the meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the other presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was called off.
Presidential spokesman Ima Niboro said: "We are totally excited by Atiku's selection because this decision has made the coast even clearer for President Jonathan."
He did not give details.
Niboro added: "Atiku is the consensus candidate of the Adamu Ciroma- led NPLF, and not the "North", as is being mischievously played in the media. This is unless our definition of the North now excludes the Middle belt, and large sections of the Northeast and sizeable chunk of the Northwest that have thrown their weight behind Jonathan".
The meeting, which was initially scheduled to take place at the Defence House, Maitama, Abuja, was called off, following the selection of Atiku. Niboro said a new date would be fixed for a meeting between Jonathan and Atiku.
The meeting between all the presidential aspirants, it was learnt, was designed to discuss campaign strategy, with a view to making it clean, campaign, considering the volume of offensive materials so far put out by some of the candidates.
Explaining why the meeting failed to hold, Niboro said before it could take place, Atiku had emerged as the consensus candidate.
On how the Jonathan camp received the news, a source in the Presidency said immediately Atiku was announced, members of the Jonathan camp started exchanging banters and congratulating one another.
The source said the Babangida camp was already accusing Ciroma, chairman of the Selection Committee, of vendetta.
The Babangida camp claimed that Ciroma selected Atiku over Babangida because the former military president denied him the National Republican Convention (NRC) presidential ticket over two decades ago.
The source noted that the former military president might head for the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to actualise his political dreams.
Jubilation in Jonathan's camp (http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/19702.html)