2023: Atiku Speaks on Dilemma Over Interest in Presidency, Clarifies Position on Zoning, Age
- Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has issued clarifications regarding his position on zoning ahead of the 2023 presidential election
- Atiku through his media adviser, Paul Ibe, provided a full transcript of what he said regarding zoning and age as regards the presidency
- In the transcript provided by the his media aide, Atiku said he sometimes wonders whether or not to contest for president given the country's "too many" challenges
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Paul Ibe, a media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has issued a clarification regarding what his principal said regarding zoning and age ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku had come under severe criticism after media reports indicate that he rejected the call on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to adopt the principle of zoning for its 2023 presidential ticket.
Source: Twitter
It was reported that the former VP in a meeting with stakeholders of the party on Thursday, February 10, stated that there is no portion of the Nigerian constitution that supports the idea of zoning.
Reacting to Atiku's statement, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said zoning and rotation of key political positions cannot be discarded in Nigeria.
Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
PANDEF's national publicity secretary, Hon. Ken Robinson, said "the narrative that there is no zoning in the nation’s Constitution is a conscienceless mockery of our democratic evolution, and indeed, the country’s constitution."
Also, Kassim Afegbua, a PDP chieftain and ex-commissioner, faulted Atiku's reported position on zoning.
He asked the former vice president to speak the truth in respect of zoning as enshrined in the constitution of the PDP.
Following the backlash trailing, Atiku's comment, Ibe, his media adviser, on Thursday, February 17, provided a "verbatim transcript" of what his principal said on zoning and age when he met with the Fix Nigeria Group over the issues revolving around the 2023 elections.
In a post sighted by Legit.ng on his Facebook page, Ibe described media reports of Atiku's statement as "inaccurate representation."
2023: I often contemplate whether or not to contest for PDP presidential ticket - Atiku
In the transcript shared by Ibe, Atiku said Nigeria is facing many challenges and he sometimes wonders whether he should contest for president or not.
He said:
"I have never seen this country have so many challenges at the same time. Sometimes when I lay down on my bed, I begin to wonder whether I should go for this thing or not, because, the challenges are just too many.
All my life, I have never seen the country in such a bad situation. As far as the unity of the country is concerned, we are more divided, in fact more divided even than when we fought the civil war.
"We were never as divided as this. We never had breakdown of law and order like this. When we fought the civil war, it was confined in a particular place, every other place was peaceful and we didn’t have this kind of poverty where even the farmer could not go the field to plant what he will eat, not to talk of commercial quantity."
The full transcript: What Atiku said to the Fix Nigeria Group on zoning and age
“Ladies and gentlemen,
"I welcome you to my house. You know, it is your house too. Professor (Isa) Odidi and I have been in regular communication. I want to thank him through you. When you talk to him, tell him that he has my great respect and my gratitude to him for all that he has been doing since the last election. He has been really consistent and he has been loyal to the Directorate of the Diaspora. Please thank him very much on my behalf.
"Well, you have already said what is before us today. First of all, we are waiting for the President to sign the Electoral Act; only God knows – maybe until after the elections that he will sign the bill. But when he signs it, we will expect – of course - that INEC will release their guidelines. And when INEC releases its own guidelines, we expect the political parties to read and adopt which option.
"In the draft Electoral Act, we have three options: direct, indirect and consensus. Each political party will now decide which option it will adopt. Then, we will know. But my senses tell me that the PDP will go for the indirect primaries. Because, we believe that that is the most efficient and that is the less expensive and also it brings politically enlightened members of the party to make a very important decision for the party, on behalf of the party. So, we still have a little bit of time to wait. Hopefully, before the end of this month, we will have the Electoral Bill signed into law.
"What is important is that we have people who are already statutory delegates. Meaning: governors and former governors; senators and former senators; members of the House of Representatives and former members of the House of Representatives – who are still members of our party. Do you understand? And then, we have elected delegates, right? Now, these elected delegates are the people that we don’t know. But we already know who the statutory delegates are. So, currently, the statutory delegates should be our targets. These are the people that we must reach out to until the party lets us know who the elected delegates are. This is how we will form the Electoral College that will elect the candidate. I believe that you will work towards…. Many of you are friends with members of the National Assembly; many of you are friends with current and past governors and so on and so forth. These are people that you should target or you should lobby and let them know that this is the person that is best suited for our party, if you want to rescue the country.
"So, I thank you very much indeed and I look forward to interacting with you, you know, again in the future, as developments occur. If there is need on your own part to be with me, fine; if there is need for my own part to be with you, good enough. I request through the High Chief (Raymond Dokpesi).
"I want to commend you for the work that you have done so far by enlightening the citizens of this country on the choices before us as a country. I have never seen this country have so many challenges at the same time. Sometimes when I lay down on my bed, I begin to wonder whether I should go for this thing or not, because, the challenges are just too many. All my life, I have never seen the country in such a bad situation. As far as the unity of the country is concerned, we are more divided, in fact more divided even than when we fought the civil war. We were never as divided as this. We never had breakdown of law and order like this. When we fought the civil war, it was confined in a particular place, every other place was peaceful and we didn’t have this kind of poverty where even the farmer could not go the field to plant what he will eat, not to talk of commercial quantity.
"So, it is daunting task for anybody to come and turn things around. And, I have heard people talk about ‘oh… we should give it to a young man, or we should not give it to an old man, we should give it to a middle aged man, and so on and so forth.’ Of course, they have the freedom of speech and they can say anything. But fundamentally, the constitution says that all of us can contest. The constitution has not barred anyone of us. There is no zoning in the constitution. There is none. I was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted this very constitution. Then, as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, we felt that there should be a sense of belonging. I remember that I had a very heated argument with the Late Dr. Alex Ekwueme at the Constitutional Conference. I said, ‘Alex, you want to bring in zoning because you want to breakaway this country.’ We had very heated debate with him and later on, I apologized to him and told him: ‘you reason better than myself. I was emotional in my reasoning. I think the zonal thing that you are proposing is a good thing.’
"I assure you that as far as I am concerned, I will observe and implement whatever will bring about the peace, unity and stability of this country. I met an Emir three nights ago; he is not from my state. He is from one of the other states and he said to me that: ‘you know why I support you strongly to be president?’ What are you looking for at this age? You have married finish, you don born finish. You have everything. But my fear is that if I go and give it to a young man, he may be looking for women to marry; looking for a car to buy or a house to build. Now what are we saying?’ I laughed. I said: ‘well, it doesn’t follow. God endows leadership. You can have a young thirty years old man and he will do better than an old man. So, leadership is an endowed attribute of God. We should try to look for such a person who has been endowed
"I thank you very much for this visit. I want to thank High Chief for bringing this team along. I wish you all a pleasant evening and God bless you.”
Field northern candidates in 2023 elections and lose, Buhari's minister tells parties
Meanwhile, Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, has lent his support for the presidency to be zoned to the south.
Ngige, in an interview, stated that although most political parties like the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) do not have the principle of rotation in their rules, it was an unwritten agreement enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
The minister said this ideology runs through all the arms and levels of government in Nigeria to reflect the federal character.
Source: Legit.ng
