2023: Saraki Ready to Battle Atiku As Ex-senate President’s Ally Says PDP Will Zone Ticket to North
- Kawu Baraje, a former national chairman of the PDP, has hinted that the PDP would zone its presidency to the north
- A former Senate president, Iyorchia Ayu, had on Thursday, October 14, emerged as the PDP consensus candidate for its national chairmanship position
- After the screening and sub-zonal stakeholders’ meetings, three candidates emerged before Ayu was eventually chosen
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
FCT, Abuja - Despite the emergence of a former Senate president, Iyorchia Ayu as the consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of its convention, Kawu Baraje has said that the north has got the nod to contest the 2023 presidency.
The Punch reports that Baraje, who was a former national chairman of the PDP, said the party has given the north the option of producing its presidential candidate in 2023 despite the emergence of a northerner, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Source: Facebook
Legit.ng gathered Baraje confirmed this during a chat with the newspaper on Thursday, October 14.
According to its tradition, the PDP has always zoned its chairmanship and presidential seats to different regions, but while it zoned its chairmanship seat this time around, it has refused to zone its presidential seat.
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
Baraje, had in a statement on Wednesday, October 13, said the north-central needed the presidency not the national chairmanship of the party.
He said in the event the zone gets the chairmanship, it should not prevent it from contesting the presidency.
Speaking on Thursday, October 14, on whether this concern was addressed before Ayu was chosen via consensus, Baraje said it was one of the provisions when they settled for Ayu.
He said:
“The party too agreed with us. Not only did we agree that the fact that the party chairman is coming from the north-central does not stop the zone from contesting the presidential ticket This was put in black and white as an agreement.
“Ayu is capable of leading the party to victory. He has been a Senate President. He has been a minister. He is a founding father of the party. He knows who to contact and know that running a party is about inclusiveness. He is coming on board with all these experiences. With the agreement, the presidential ticket of the party is opened to the north and the south."
Why some prominent PDP chieftains want party's ticket open to all zones
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that on Thursday, October 14, former senator Iyorchia Ayu, emerged as the consensus chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It was reported that Ayu is from Benue state in the north-central of the country.
According to the report, with the northern region on the verge of producing the PDP's national chairman, political analysts speculate that the party may zone its presidential ticket to the south.
Source: Legit.ng
