2011 Nigeria Election: North’s consensus candidate to emerge this month

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THERE were strong signs Thursday that the North may pick a consensus candidate for the 2011 presidential poll by the end of this month.

The candidate will come from the quartet of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida; ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; ex-National Security Adviser Gen. Aliyu Gusau; and Kwara Governor Bukola Saraki.

But Atiku Thursday said he no longer believed in consensus candidacy.

It was also learnt that the team searching for a consensus candidate has excluded all the campaign chiefs of the aspirants from the panel.

The search team has concluded the criteria template for the screening of the aspirants.

It was also learnt that the 17-man team, which had been meeting in the last 72hours, might engage in intense review of the records of the aspirants and hold consultation with strategically chosen Northern elders on who to back.

A highly-placed source, who spoke in confidence, said: "We are likely to pick a consensus candidate by the end of October.

Source: The Nation