2015: North plans strategic meeting with Jonathan, OBJ

AS part of its strategic moves ahead of the 2015 election, the northern political establishment is contemplating some meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on the issue.
Sources close to the political structures in the northern geopolitical zones confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the planned meetings are being organised separately but with a view to achieving the same purpose.
It was gathered that the North was leaving no stone unturned in the bid to ensure that a candidate from the core North emerges the president in 2015.

Sources told the Nigerian Tribune that while the meeting being planned with Obasanjo is at the instance of some of those regarded as “friends of Obasanjo” in the North, with a view to seeking his backing for power shift to the core North in 2015, the planned meeting with President Jonathan is expected to be at the instance of the Arewa Consultative Forum(ACF), which is spearheaduing the 2015 arrangements of the North.
It was also learnt that the strategic meetings on the 2015 agenda held in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, recently also concluded on the need for the separate meetings to further boost the confidence of the northern political establishment.
“One issue of paramount importance to all the northern state governors and the political elite is the need to return political power to the zone in 2015. In that regard, all hands are on deck for the same purpose,” a source said.
Another source stated that a decision had been reached for some strategic meetings to be held separately with the duo of Jonathan and Obasanjo, where the issue of 2015 presidency would be discussed.
It was gathered that a team has been put together for that purpose. While some sources said it might be early to start the 2015 battle, others believed that the governors of the region should take up the issue squarely.