Nigeria’s major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party is being torn apart over the issue of zoning haead the 2023 Presidential election.

The southern and northern elements have refused to agree on zoning with the South insisting it’s their turn to produce next President.

Impeccable sources within the PDP told disclosed Wednesday that the crisis was worsened by the absence of a defined leader, who could bring together opposing forces to reach an agreement.

It was gathered that because of the sharp disagreement between the southern and northern leaders, the party was in a dilemma whether to zone the Presidency to the South or not.

It was learnt that northern leaders, who were demanding that the presidential ticket of the party should be thrown open, hinged their hope on the fact that a northerner would emerge as the party flag bearer.

It was also gathered that they argued that by the time the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), concluded his eight-year tenure, the North would have spent 11 years in power if the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s three-year tenure was added.

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This, they argued, would be short of a total of 13 years spent by former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

But it was learnt that southern leaders insisted that the North had been in power in the country more than the South since independence.

Our correspondents also gathered that they also argued that the PDP had agreed on zoning since 1999.

There were reports on Wednesday that the PDP zoning committee had recommended that the party should throw its presidential ticket open.

But following angry reactions the reports generated particularly in the South, the party was in a dilemma on whether to adopt zoning or not.

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A chieftain of the party, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “Actually, the party is in a fix over zoning. It does not want to present itself as anti-South by abandoning zoning. That is why the National Executive Committee will meet and carefully take a decision on the issue.”

But in a chat with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, a PDP stalwart, Chief Bode George, who was also a member of the zoning committee, said the party had not thrown its ticket open.

PDP constitution mandates zoning, abandoning it will be unjust – Bode George

George said the PDP constitution mandates zoning, adding that it would be unjust for it to be thrown open.

The PDP chieftain also rejected claims by northern elements in the party that the South had ruled Nigeria longer than the North since 1999.

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“Zoning is sacrosanct and I can confirm to you that the committee in its report did not throw the ticket open. Observations were made as well as recommendations and they will be forwarded to the National Executive Committee for a final decision.

“Those saying the South has ruled longer than the North are only being clever by counting from 1999. They should count from 1960. If you are counting, you should start from number one and not number eight,” George said.

I don’t believe in not zoning, I didn’t contest in 2019 because PDP zoned the presidency to North – Fayose

In an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme, the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, also insisted that the party’s ticket be zoned to the South.

Fayose, who was also a member of the zoning committee, said the recommendation wasn’t for the ticket of the party to be thrown open. Rather, what was suggested was that there should be consensus because many people had already bought forms and it would be wrong to scheme them out.

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“I don’t believe in not zoning this Presidential ticket. I was part of the zoning committee. To me, they didn’t even say it like that. All that was said is that because the party ought to have started the process a long time for reasons that some people had bought forms, maybe the party should work with consensus,” the former governor said.

Fayose, who purchased the N40m Presidential form of the PDP on Wednesday, stated that he wanted to contest the Presidency in 2019 but the PDP zoned its ticket to the North and he, therefore, put his ambition in abeyance.

“The last presidential primary in Port Harcourt was a northern affair. All the aspirants were from the North. So, when you talk about my not contesting the last time, I was told it was going to be a northern affair and that is why you had Saraki, Atiku, Tambuwal and all of them. There was no southerner. If we don’t begin to put things in perspective, our children will ask questions,” the ex-governor added.

The former governor said the northern PDP elements failed at the 2019 Presidential poll and had since lost their chance. He, therefore, maintained that 2023 must be the turn of the South.

He also faulted claims that only the North could provide the PDP with the needed number of votes to win the 2023 elections.

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Fayose recalled that former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar won his home state of Adamawa by just 20,000 votes in the last Presidential election which Governor Tambuwal won in Sokoto by a tiny margin.

“Atiku won in Adamawa by less than 20,000 votes. Go to Sokoto, what was the voting difference? We lost in Kwara. Let us look at the figures. Who is the person that can win?” he asked.

The ex-governor also rejected the appeal for a consensus candidacy which is being championed by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed.

He argued that consensus was a dubious form of primary as evidenced by the All Progressives Congress’ national convention of last month.
Punch

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