AMINU TAMBUWAL: He is a former Speaker of House of Representatives and the sitting Governor of Sokoto State. He defected from APC to PDP in 2014 and is now back in the PDP. He is the favourite to clinch the ticket — because he enjoys the support of Nyesom Wike, who is currently the party's biggest financier.
It's just a vew hours before leading members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) converge on the Adokiye Amasiemeka Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to determine the man to oppose President Muhammadu Buhari for the right to sit down in Aso Rock from May 2019.
Here's a quick rundown of the aspirants:
BUKOLA SARAKI: He is a two-time former Governor of Kwara State and he is the current Senate President. He defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the PDP in the buildup to the 2015 election. He is now back in the PDP.
ATIKU ABUBAKAR: He served two terms as Vice-President to Olusegun Obasanjo. He is a perennial defector. But the defection in recent memory is when he moved from PDP to APC in the buildup to the 2015 general election. He contested for the presidential ticket with Buhari and lost. He is now back in the PDP. The former Vice-President is from Adamawa State.
RABIU KWANKWASO: He is a two-term former Governor of Kano State. He defected from APC back to PDP because of his rift with his former deputy Ganduje who is now the Governor of Kano State. He leads a cult-like group known as Kwankwassiya movement.
SULE LAMIDO: He is a two-term Governor of Jigawa. He served as Foreign Minister in the first term of Obasanjo-led administration.
AMINU TAMBUWAL: He is a former Speaker of House of Representatives and the sitting Governor of Sokoto State. He defected from APC to PDP in 2014 and is now back in the PDP. He is the favourite to clinch the ticket — because he enjoys the support of Nyesom Wike, who is currently the party's biggest financier.
AHMED MAKARFI: He is a two-term former Governor of Kaduna State and former senator. He also served as a National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the PDP.
DAVID MARK: He is a former Senate President and a kind of denizen of the House of Senate because he has been in the red chamber since the country’s return to civil rule in 1999. He is from Benue State.
DATTI BABA-AHMED: A former House of Representatives member under ANPP. He is from Kaduna State.
JONAH JANG: He is a former Governor of Plateau State and a serving senator.
KABIRU TAMINU TURAKI: He is a former Minister and President of the Association of Former Ministers
IBRAHIM DANKWAMBO: He is the currently the Governor of Gombe State, anoffice he has held since 2007
ATTAHIRU BAFARAWA: He is a two-term former Governor of Sokoto State, serving from 1999 to 2007.