Indications emerged, on Tuesday, that the southern part of the country will likely pick the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party zoned its chairmanship position to the North.
There have been agitations in the ruling party, the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), socio-cultural organisations, political class, among others over which zone should produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor on the expiration of his tenure.
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In the ruling party, there were reports that some stakeholders from the North were mulling the retention of the presidency in the region, come 2023. However, at the end of a meeting of 22 APC governors with President Buhari, it was agreed that the chairmanship position of the party should be zoned to the North.
With this, political analysts said barring any odds, the APC presidential ticket would go to the southern part of the country. Also, there is the likelihood that the ticket of the opposition PDP would go the same way.
The Southern Governors’ Forum had on September 16, last year, at the end of their meeting in Enugu, insisted that President Buhari’s successor in 2023 must come from the South in the spirit of justice, equity and fairness.
Daily Trust reports that aside the likes of former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima and Governor Yahaya Bello, all other presidential aspirants in the ruling APC are so far from the South.
APC chairmanship position goes to North
Fielding questions from State House reporters after their meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State said the party had agreed to swap the current vacant positions in the National Working Committee (NWC) between the northern and southern parts of the country ahead of the March 26 national convention.
By implication, the chairmanship position, which has been held by former governors John Odigie-Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State from the South, will now go to the North.
“We have agreed on a zoning formula for all the six geopolitical zones and essentially, we swapped. Northern zones will take positions that southern zones had in the last eight years and vice versa.
“So, it is a very simple, equitable and fair formula. We will now go back and consult at the zonal level, and look at the positions that are available and the process of the convention preparation will start in earnest.”
The Governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Atiku Bagudu, who led the post-meeting briefing, while reacting to the question earlier, said the president enjoined them to employ consensus to fill the vacant NWC positions.
The PGF chairman said President Buhari cited the emergence of past national chairman through consensus to back his views.
Govs divided over convention timing
Governor El-Rufai said the APC governors were divided on the timing of the convention but that the matter had been resolved after their meeting on Monday.
He said: “We were divided over the timing of the convention…Some governors felt that we should put off the convention until we resolve all the congresses’ issues in some states. Some other governors held the view that we should wait until all this is resolved. And this is not borne out of any agenda or selfishness. It is just a realistic proposition to avoid us violating any laws or putting our party structures of elected candidates in danger.
“So, yes, there were differences in opinion about timing. Some of us are saying the constitution allows us to have a convention even if three or four states have unresolved issues, while others are saying no, let us finish all the reconciliations and then do the convention. After all, there is no time limit for the convention as long as we do it before the time for the primaries. So, that was the difference.
“This is what the media has called divided governors. In a democratic setting, there is no way you can have 22 governors plus the deputy governor of Anambra State agreeing on any issue. We can have differences. But after our meeting of last night, to deliberate on the proposal by the national caretaker committee, and our briefing with Mr President today, we are all on the same page.”
The brief meeting that took place at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; and 19 APC governors as well as deputy governor of Anambra State who left the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the APC last year.
Zero-sum game ongoing in APC – Don
Dissecting the development, an Associate Professor of Political Sociology at, the University of Abuja, Dr Abubakar Umar Kari, said the zoning of the party position was not unexpected or surprising.
He, however, told one of our reporters that even with the development, the fate of the APC hangs in the balance, describing happenings in the party as “a zero-sum game.”
He said, “That APC, like its main rival the PDP, has adopted zoning in deciding where its next national chairman will come from, is not unexpected or surprising. That the position has been zoned to the North is equally in keeping with projections of most pundits and analysts. It is being widely expected that the party will pick its presidential flag bearer for the 2023 elections from the South because a Northerner, Muhammadu Buhari, has been on the saddle since 2015.
“It is clear that the APC has been beset by intense rivalry and infighting among its several blocs, tendencies and groups.
“The fate of the party hangs in the balance, because what is going on is a zero-sum game, and unless these groups manage to find common ground in the coming days, the future of the party is anybody’s guess,” he said.
By Ismail Mudashir, Muideen Olaniyi & Abdullateef Salau
