A former governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday said rather than zone the 2023 presidency, it should be thrown open to qualified and competent Nigerians.
He said this while featuring on Trust Television’s Daily Politics programme.
He recalled that he was a member of the zoning committee of the PDP that did the zoning in the past.
“We resolved then that for example, if somebody from northern states emerged the president, then the chairman would resign and we would now re-work. We had that in black and white, we signed it. I believe we would come to it when the time comes.
“The party has not taken any position at the moment. If we’re able to come to terms that zoning must work, I’m sure we would set up a committee to work on it. However, we have position papers that we should leave the presidency open so that anyone who feels he can aspire can come and run,” he said.
He also explained why the PDP lost the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections.
“What happened in 2015 that we lost the election was more of internal wrangling. In 2019, many Nigerians who can look at issues properly will tell you that PDP won the elections. The only thing that we do not control is we were not in control of the instrument of coercion of the state,” Aliyu said.
The former governor however said the PDP had learnt its lessons. He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) was giving more of excuses and buck passing than actual governance.
On the direct primaries recently endorsed by the National Assembly, he said it should be experimented for the 2023 elections.
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