PDP Zones Presidency To The South.
The next national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will emerge from the northern region of the country, the party’s National Zoning Committee has announced.
This directly implies that the presidential candidate will emerge from the South.
This decision was contained in a communique issued on Thursday following the meetings of the committee held in Enugu and Abuja.
“The decision of the PDP Zoning Committee is in line with the Constitution of the party on zoning and rotation of party and national offices in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness,” the statement read.
“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.”
Full details.
PDP GOVERNORS VOTE TO ZONE CHAIRMANSHIP TO THE NORTH
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have voted for the zoning of the party chairmanship to the north — an early indication that the presidential ticket may go to the south.
TheCable understands that at the meeting of the PDP governors held on Wednesday at Akwa Ibom governor’s residence in Abuja, they voted 9-3 in favour of the north.
Three northern governors — Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Adamu Fintiri (Adamawa) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba) — voted for the chairmanship to be zoned to the south.
Mohammed has announced his intention to run for president in 2023.
Only one Northern governor, Samuel Ortom (Benue), voted for the chairmanship to be in the north.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state (north) and chairman of the PDP governors forum, did not vote as he presided over the meeting.
He too is believed to be eyeing the presidential ticket, having run unsuccessfully in the party primary in 2019.
The other PDP governors who voted in favour of northern chairmanship are: Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), and Douye Diri (Bayelsa).
The meeting resolved to pass the resolution of the governors to the zoning committee of the national convention, currently scheduled to take place on October 30 and 31 in Abuja.
Sources informed TheCable that the convention may be shifted to resolve outstanding issues.
If a northerner is voted chairman, this may finally signal that the PDP will pick its presidential candidate from the south — though changes can still be made to reflect the north/south balance in the event that other compromises are reached.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to make a decision on its own ticket.
Southern governors recently met and demanded that the next president should come from the south, but their northern counterparts have insisted that voters should be allowed to decide.