PRESIDENTIAL POLLS PDP BIGGER THAN ATIKU – KAZAURE, YAR'ADUA'S MINISTER

Former Minister of Special Duties, Senator Ibrahim Musa Kazaure, has said that the defeat of ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar at the party's national congress would not in any way cause explosion or implosion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He told Daily Sun in Dutse, Jigawa State, that that the party is bigger than any individual.

Kazaure, who served under the administration of the late president Umaru Musa Yar Adua insisted that the gloomy projection of imminent catastrophe in the PDP, would not happen. He argued that the exit of Atiku or that of any single individual in a party of nearly 100 million followers cannot cause any storm:

'With the defeat or exit of Atiku from the party, the PDP will simply remain the same successful party it has always been. There will be no disintegration. Nothing of sort will happen.

'Atiku left PDP before and PDP did not collapse. Atiku was defeated before in the elections and PDP did not collapse. So tell me, how can PDP collapse if Atiku loses again? How can PDP collapse? Ten10 Atikus or even hundreds of Atikus can decide to leave PDP. Do not forget, he was not in PDP when we won the 2007 elections. He was in the Action Congress (AC) and we (PDP) defeated him.'

He contended that from the feelers available as well as evident statistics of the possible distribution of the PDP delegate votes,  'President Goodluck Jonathan will win 90 percent of the votes in the North, both at the primaries and secondary elections.'

Kazaure was moved to the Ministry of Labour by Jonathan before he was relieved of his appointment in a major cabinet reshuffle that followed. But he is at present a leading member of the Jonathan /Sambo Campaign Organization in the North West Zone.

He rejected the claim that some of the northern governors are not in support of the presidential bid of Jonathan: 'From what I know, all the northern governors of essence are already with Jonathan, hence there is no need for any fear.

'Zoning is relative. It depends on how you want it to be. If you remember, when Obasanjo was contesting, the late Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Rimi was also in that race. Some northerners contested. So you cannot say anybody cannot contest.  Nobody stopped them from contesting. We are not saying that Atiku should not contest. Let him contest.'

He declined to comment on the recent threat by the former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd) that zoning should be respected by the party: 'I will not comment on that because I have not seen him leave the party yet. When he does that, then I will comment.'

He, however, insisted that politics by its very nature is dynamic: 'In politics, whoever comes to you is your brother. There is no fear about any kind of movement. Anybody can decide to leave and anybody can decide to join you. If you leave me today, another man might join me tomorrow. That is politics and democracy.'

Kazaure said that no matter the net political worth of an individual, it is unlikely that his departure or otherwise might cause an earthquake in a party of such huge followings: 'Let me give you a timid example. Does it mean that if I should leave the PDP today, that the party (PDP) in Kazaure will collapse?'