A member of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council and former governorship aspirant in Benue State, Hon. Chille Igbawua, has said in the spirit of fairness, equity and justice, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who hails from the North East should be given the mandate in next year’s poll.
Igbawua, a former Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission, in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, said the South South, South West and North West have taken a shot at the presidency since the return of democracy in 1999 while the North East, North Central and South East were yet to benefit.
He said while the South as a whole has governed for more number of years beginning from President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, Atiku from the North East should be voted after which power should be shifted to the South East and then the North Central in subsequent elections.
“We have six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Of these, three have governed, three have not governed. In the North, the North West has governed, the North East and the North Central have not.
“In the South, the South West and South South have governed, the South East has not. So in the spirit of fairness and justice, the North East should be given the opportunity this time,” he said.
Igbawua, a former member of the House of Representatives, said Atiku’s chances of winning the poll were high, despite the current crisis in the PDP, stressing that the aggrieved governors and other stakeholders would unite before February 25, and work for the party’s victory.
He expressed optimism that some governors and other critical stakeholders of the APC who were not comfortable with happenings in the ruling party would equally work for the PDP.
“We are contesting against a party that has failed woefully. People are tired, they are hungry, they are feeling insecure, they don’t know what tomorrow holds for them. They have looked back at the time of PDP and they feel they should be back there.”
