PDP youths urge leadership to throw presidential ticket open

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youths have urged the leadership of the party to throw the 2023 presidential ticket open.

The PDP youths, under the aegis of South South Youth Vanguard, in a statement on Sunday by its National Chairman, James Efe Akpofure, said there is more benefits for the party if the presidential position was thrown open than to zone it to a particular region.

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The youths said their position on the issue was against the backdrop of the clamour that the only way the party can get a better candidate in 2023 was to allow every interested person from any zone to contest the position in the primary.

The group said any attempt to restrict the position would work against the party.

The PDP Youth Vanguard said: “We are of the opinion that the only way the party can make impact in 2023 is to allow everybody to participate in the presidential race.

“This will give us that opportunity to come back to power.

“As an opposition party, this is not the time to zone positions as such will work against the party.

“Let us win first before we talk of zoning position. We should make the position open so that the best will emerge.”

Recall that when the zoning committee of the PDP led by the Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwanyi, zoned the party offices last week, it said they were not mandated to zone the offices of the President, Vice President and other Executive and Legislative offices.