More Cracks in APC Over ‘Open’ Ticket Ahead of 2023 Polls
- The ruling All Progressives Congress might be heading for an implosion
- A major disagreement has surfaced between chieftains of the party regarding zoning in 2023
- A recent declaration by the party's governors has also caused division within the ruling party
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A report by Daily Trust has revealed that there are more cracks in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the party governors’ recent declaration that the 2023 presidential ticket is open to all members interested.
According to the report, controversy is raging over the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket and chairmanship between the north and the south ahead of the 2023 presidential contest.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Kebbi state governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu, in a statement, last Friday, May 21 declared that all party members from all zones were free to contest any position in the next general election.
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But credible sources in the APC revealed that some APC governors and other party stalwarts were not comfortable with the development.
One of the sources said the governors, especially those from the south, have been complaining that there was no official meeting of state executives where the issue of zoning was extensively deliberated upon and decisions reached.
An elder statesman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, on Monday, May 25 stated that the APC would hit the rocks if it jettisoned the zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket.
Okorie, a former presidential candidate and chieftain of the APC, said the ruling party should respect the sensibilities and sentiments of Nigerians in order not to crash.
A member of the APC national caucus, Chief Sam Nkire, also said:
“I believe the governors will change their position and not disgrace people. I don’t believe the matter is closed yet.”
On his part, a chieftain of the party, Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo, said:
“When they said there was no zoning, they were just deceiving people; doing that to lure the aggrieved members to stay put in the party. So there must be zoning.”
Legit.ng had earlier reported that an aspirant for the position of the APC national chairman, Mohammed Bello Mustapha, said the ruling party must respect the zoning formula that was agreed upon at the inception of the party to enable it to survive beyond 2023.
Mustapha, who is a lawyer, human rights, and pro-democracy advocate, said based on the accord reached when the party came on board in 2013/2014, power should rotate between the north and the south.
Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has accused a former Niger state governor, Muazu Babangida Aliyu of being a mole in the Peoples Democratic Party.
Wike, who stated this on Monday, May 24, in Port Harcourt, was reacting to a recent statement credited to Aliyu, where he described the Rivers state governor as a dictator.
Source: Legit.ng
