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Aspirants mum
By Ismail Mudashir, Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja) & Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (Kano)
It appears that the hope of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State and former Senate President Bukola Saraki to pick the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been dashed.
This followed the zoning of the national chairman position of the party to the northern part of the country. This development has sealed the fate of all presidential aspirants of the party from the North.
Also said to be nursing presidential ambition in PDP are the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido.
This is coming days after the northern governors and traditional rulers punctured the request of their southern counterparts that the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari should come from their zone.
Top shots especially northern presidential aspirants of the party have been scheming for the party’s ticket to be zoned to the South to clear the coast for them ahead of the 2023 presidential race.
Though the zoning committee chaired by the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, said the resolution has nothing to do with the presidential ticket of the party, party sources said the chairman and a presidential candidate cannot come from the zone.
Reading the communiqué in Abuja, the Enugu governor said the National Working Committee (NWC) positions currently being held by party members across the country would be swapped between the North and the South.
He said the mandate of his committee did not include zoning of the office of president and vice president. He said the recommendations of his committee would be passed to the National Executive Committee of the party through the National Working Committee of the party.
The committee had last week met in Enugu State. Feelers from the Enugu meeting said the committee had resolved to zone the chairmanship position to the South, thus party chieftains in the zone had commenced horse trading for the position, with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State leading the camp of the South West geopolitical zone.
The zoning committee decision came after a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum held on Wednesday night where nine governors were said to have voted in favour of the position of national chairman going to the South against three that backed the North.
With this, the coast is cleared for the October 30 national convention of the party. Aside the chairman, the North is expected to produce the treasurer, woman leader, organizing secretary, legal adviser and youth leader, while the offices of the secretary, publicity secretary, financial secretary, auditor and woman leader will go to the South.
The communiqué signed by the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State (Deputy Chairman), and Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed (Secretary), said the zoning was in line with the constitution of the party.
“That zoning of offices of PDP has traditionally been between the North and South of Nigeria. The decision of the PDP Zoning Committee is in line with the constitution of the party on zoning and rotation of the party and national offices in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.
“Consequently, the current offices being held by officers in the southern zones of the country, namely, South West, South East and South South zones, should swap places with the offices currently in the northern zones of Nigeria, namely, North West, North East and North Central zones,” the communiqué reads.
Daily Trust reports that the resolution of the committee requires the ratification of the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to be held between October 31 Convention.
Aspirants mum
Aides of the presidential aspirants that were contacted yesterday declined comments on the matter. But a source close to one of them said their fate has not been sealed.
“ However, our position is that since they have decided it in that manner, it means nothing has changed and that anybody who is interested in the presidency will still be free to contest whatever zone he comes from,” the source said, pleading not to be named.
Contacted, the chairman of the party in Kano State, Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi said that for equity and fairness the North should produce the next PDP Presidential candidate. He said the decision of the panel is not final, saying they will wait for NEC.
