News Editor
Amid intense calls for power shift from the North to the South for the 2023 presidential election, the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, has said it will not stop aspirants of northern origin from contesting its presidential ticket.
It said it would leave the ticket open for all aspirants irrespective of their states or geopolitical zones.
This implies that prospective aspirants from the North including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, his counterpart in Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and others are free to contest the party’s presidential primary as against the clamour for power shift to the South.
As of the time of filing this report, Saraki is the only northern aspirant to have declared his intention on the PDP platform, even though there are clear indications that others would contest. The Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, revealed in October 2021 that Atiku and Tambuwal had indicated interest to contest the 2023 election.
In the South, however, only a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and ex-Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, and a former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Sam Ohuabunwa, have indicated interest in the race in the PDP.
Southern groups such as Afenifere in the South-West and Ohanaeze in the South-East, prominent individuals across the country, the Southern Governors Forum and many others had called for power shift to the South when the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), serves out his second tenure in May 2023.
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum on January 13 said in Abuja that political parties that fielded northern presidential candidates would not enjoy its support in the 2023 general elections. Some persons have also called for the inclusion of a rotational presidency in the constitution to ensure that every geopolitical zone has a chance to produce the president.
However, some northern groups, including the Northern Governors Forum, opposed the position of the Southern Governors Forum, saying zoning was unconstitutional and that the president could come from any part of the country.
Despite the clamour for power rotation, however, none of the 18 political parties has made its position known on the issue of zoning, even though several aspirants from the different parts of the country have declared their intention to contest the coveted office, mostly on the platform of the PDP and the All Progressives Congress.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Debo Ologunagba, said the party would not stop anyone on the basis of age or where they come from.
He stated, “We must rescue the country from where it is today, and in doing that, we do not have to think of where the next President would come from, but the ability, experience and integrity to work.
“In the PDP, persons from every part of the country will be allowed to contest, but we can only boast that the primary will be free, fair, transparent and credible. We cannot be talking about zones in deciding on who becomes the presidential candidate of the party.
“Everybody that qualifies to run and is interested will be allowed to run. Nobody will be stopped. We will be guided by the party’s and the country’s constitutions.
“We won’t shut anybody out of the electoral process. When the time comes, all organs of the party will however be involved in the decision-making process on the guidelines for the party’s presidential primary. These organs include the ward, local government, state, zonal executives, the National Assembly members, Board of Trustees and the National Executive Committee of the party.”
Our target is to win the election – BoT member
Meanwhile, a ranking member of the PDP Board of Trustees in the South-West, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an opposition party that wants to win an election may not prioritise zoning, unlike a ruling party that should ensure power rotation.
He said the PDP would have to ensure the emergence of its best aspirant that could guarantee its victory at the poll regardless of who other parties present.
He added, “We want to win the election. Therefore, we may not insist on zoning. Any opposition political party that wants to win an election should not allow a ruling party to push it to do what is not right for it.
“Winning an election involves every legal means and that is what we are expected to do as the main opposition party that wants to win the presidency next year. We won’t allow the APC to push us to decide what might not be good for us. That is what we are trying to do. PDP does not need to zone. We are not in government; therefore, we won’t be pushed.”
God’ll teach us what to do, says Bode George
Reacting to the issue, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, said the party would need to have roundtable talks on the issue and possibly embark on constitutional amendments to avoid similar issues subsequently.
He added, “Naturally, the position of the national chairman of the party and its presidential candidate must not come from the same zone. So, let us wait for the time when we would pick our presidential candidate.
“Our founding fathers never thought that another political party would win the presidency and that was why we never envisaged what is happening now, that another party would win the presidency apart from the PDP.
“Now, the opposition won in 2015 and it is time for another election. We have a northerner now as the President, but he was not produced by the PDP. What do we do? We need to go back to the roundtable, embark on consultations, deliberations and even amend the party’s constitution.
“We have so much to discuss. I am happy that the current national chairman of the party (Iyorchia Ayu) is one of the nine founding fathers of the party. We must put the zoning issue in black and white. I believe we have to settle this issue of zoning once and for all. God will teach us what to do.”
Lifting lid on restriction on zoning good for PDP – Adamawa PDP chief
The PDP Chairman in Adamawa State, Tahir Shehu, described as a good development the lifting of the restriction on zoning of the presidency within the party.
Shehu, who is a loyalist of Atiku, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Friday evening, said Nigerians were looking forward to the party to rescue them.
He added, “The PDP remains the solution to the myriad of problems bedevilling Nigeria, and Atiku remains better placed with his records to turn things around. It is therefore a good development for our party to throw open the ticket to allow whoever wishes to contest the presidency to vie for it.”
