US embassy cable - 03ABUJA16

UNCLAS ABUJA 000016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, PINS, PREL, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PDP NATIONAL CONVENTION SELECTS OBASANJO 
 
REF:  (A) Abuja 0015 
-     (B) Abuja 0008 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
 
1. (U) In a repeat of the ruling PDP's 1999 convention, 
Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo defeated Alex Ekwueme to 
become its presidential candidate, receiving 2,642 of an 
estimated 3,579 votes cast (74 percent) in the first round. The 
former Vice President came in a distant second with 661 votes. 
Second Republic Kano State Governor Abubakar Rimi trailed with 
159, and former PDP national Chairman Barnabas Gemade brought up 
the rear with 17. 
 
 
2. (SBU) However, the final tally did not reflect the pre-voting 
tension.  Compared with the anxious excitement of Friday and 
Saturday, the actual gathering of the delegates at Eagle square 
and the voting were anti-climatic.  The atmosphere was subdued, 
having none of the electricity usually associated with a hard- 
fought convention.  This could be partially attributed to the 
exhaustion of the delegates and contestants; many had had only a 
few hours of sleep the last several nights.  However, the 
primary reason for this languor was that, although the 
nomination had been hard fought, the battle did not continue to 
the convention floor.  By this morning, most of the errant 
governors had been pulled back into the fold and Atiku, perhaps 
tempted, never really strayed. Despite the suspense of the last 
two days, the final results reflected what we predicted before 
the convention.  Despite the unpopularity of the President among 
the delegates, the power of incumbency and control of the party 
machinery ultimately proved decisive.  Still Obasanjo was forced 
to politick and was perhaps given a preview of how tough the 
general election might be. 
 
 
3. (SBU) Because the voting had turned into a virtual no- 
contest, the process ended with a first round victory.  However, 
balloting consumed almost ten hours and was followed by a 
tedious five-hour vote count.  The final announcement of 
Obasanjo's victory echoed across a nearly empty Eagle Square, 
with almost none of the state delegates still around.  About two 
hundred of Obasanjo's staff and supporters were on hand for the 
announcement, along with the remnants of a special 3,200-person 
security presence and a few vendors looking to sell their wares. 
 
 
4. (U) Note: Press reports give the delegate count as 3,349; 
late additions and accreditation irregularities likely account 
for the difference, and then some.  A few state delegations were 
smaller than reported (e.g., Abia had 95 delegates instead of 
100), so the total delegates added on Friday and Saturday 
probably exceeded 230.  Even if 250 fewer delegates committed to 
Obasanjo had been present (3329 instead of 3579 total 
delegates), Obasanjo would have polled 2392 and achieved an easy 
first-round victory. 
 
 
JETER