The campaign train of former military leader, Ibrahim Babangida formally berthed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital led by members of the kitchen cabinet of the deceased strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, which included his wife, Bose and Hazeem Gbolarunmi.

This comes as Northern political leaders canvassing the retention of zoning are set to meet political and opinion leaders from the South-East.

The proposed meeting, convened at the instance of the Northern Elders Political Forum, will be led by former Minister of Finance Mallam Adamu Ciroma and former Inspector-General of Police Alhaji M.D Yusuf.
The South-east leaders Northern elders will confer with former Vice-President Dr. Alex Ekwueme who had said in a recent BBC Hausa Service interview in London that PDP should maintain the zoning arrangement for the stability of the polity.
They would also meet with former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Anambra State Governor Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife as well as all the serving governors from the five states in the zone; others are traditional rulers and leaders of thought from the region.
It has also emerged that the five governors of the South-east geopolitical zone have ruled themselves out of the presidential race. The South-east governors who met last night in Enugu also barred themselves from lobbying for the office of the Vice-President of the country in 2011.
In the South-West, one of Babangida’s point men, Hazeem Gbolarumi declared at the Ibadan launch that Yoruba people were ready to support the presidential bid of Babangida, who annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by Basorun M.K.O. Abiola.
The Adedibu aide pointed out that the time has come for the Yoruba race to reciprocate the support accorded Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who is a Yoruba man by the entire North throughout his eight year term as the nation's President by fully supporting a Northerner especially a known hand like Babangida.
In a veiled reference to the opposition against the Babangida presidential project, especially from some political groups in the South West, Gbolarumi who is the Campaign Coordinator for the state, described the critics of the presidential ambition of the erstwhile military strongman as enemies of Nigeria.
“Nigeria belongs to every one of us and democracy is about participation. Those who consider IBB not suitable as President should present themselves to Nigerians and allow the electorates to make their choice.  Without mincing words, Nigeria at this particular period needs a leader like General Babangida for the nation to move forward, adding, “Nigerians at this time should look beyond the ordinary in the choice of our next President,'' he said.
Gbolarumi emphasised that the Yoruba people are presently seeing above the campaign of calumny against the person of Babangida by some of his detractors but are determined towards sustaining the nation's unity by pitching their tent with a credible candidate from the Northern part of the country particularly a tested and trusted hand like General Babangida.
The IBB Campaign coordinator said, “The project for which we all gathered here from al the nooks and crannies of the pacesetter state is the IBB 2011 project. We in the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Oyo State have seen the qualities embedded in the man and we wholly identified with him in his quest to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, come 2011.
The former Deputy-Governor said, ''we here present believe in IBB and see his quest to be president in 2011 as a collective aspiration. We are out to fulfill this goal through unalloyed and total commitment to the ideals of this ambition'', recalling that though, so much had been said about the man IBB and his leadership credentials, but noted that most of these are fallacies and a creation of a class of elite bent on denying Nigerians of quality leadership''.
On mobilising the South-East, spokesman of the group of Northern elders and former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, said all the regions of the country would be consulted so as to mobilise all parts of the country on the need to respect the zoning arrangement.

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