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The deputy chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC),
Sule Hamma, on Tuesday, said the party sympatises with the northern
elements within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who felt
betrayed by the alleged zoning arrangement agreed upon some years ago.

Speaking with
journalists in Abuja, Mr. Hamma, who was also the director general of
The Buhari Organisation (TBO), however, ruled out the involvement of the
CPC and its leader, Muhammadu Buhari, in the search for a consensus
candidate among the presidential aspirants on PDP platform from the
north.

“We see (Adamu)
Ciroma as a friend and as an honourable person, as a very conscientious
senior Nigerian citizen that is committed to ensuring justice within his
own party,” he said.

“So far as that is
concerned, we sympathise with anybody that has been betrayed by a
political partner or associate, no matter which party he is in, because
we stand for principle and we insist that people must be responsible and
must also discharge obligations freely entered, irrespective of what
are the circumstances,” he said.

Mr. Hamma dismissed
reports that Mr. Buhari distanced himself from the search for a
consensus candidate because he would rather prefer to face Goodluck
Jonathan in the election to a candidate from the north. According to
him, the retired military general is not afraid of contesting against
any candidate.

The CPC chief urged Nigerians to ignore the PDP, which he said, does not respect agreements freely entered into.

“There is no doubt
about the fact that the issue that has created this wave within the PDP
is one of treachery and betrayal by the PDP dominant group that is in
power today, that is unwilling to recognise and accept the provisions of
the constitution of the party, and the agreement that was entered into
between the northern elements within the PDP and their southern
brothers,” he added.

He admitted that
there is a group of people in the country who are determined to deny Mr.
Buhari the opportunity of returning to power.

“First, the issue of
a cabal; no matter how enlightened they may be, is completely
objectionable to us. We insist that Nigerians are capable of electing
their leaders.

“We insist that in
the twenty first century, Nigeria will be defined in terms of the
strength and stability of its democracy, its openness, and its
transparency, and its participation and responsiveness to the need of
its own people.

“Nigerians will not be accepted or judged as a civilised democratic country if it is controlled by a cabal,” he said.