2023: PDP Faces Tough Decision As Southern Governors Reject Open Ticket, Reveal Next Action
Following the controversy over zoning arrangement, five southern governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have demanded that the party must respect the agreement.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Nigerian Tribune reports that the governors reiterated their position after a three-hour closed-door meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Friday, April 8.
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng gathered that the chairman of the PDP Southern Governors Forum and governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu insisted that the party must consider the south for the sake of fairness and equity.
The latest stand of the PDP southern governors is coming days after the party’s 37-member zoning committee chaired by Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom reportedly agreed to throw the contest for 2023 presidential ticket open.
Present at the meeting were the host governor, Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia).
Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
PDP presidential ticket must be zoned to the south
Ikpeazu also drew the attention of the world to the earlier position taken by the southern governors on the zoning of the presidency to the south, adding that the governors are standing firm on the resolution, which he said no reason to change.
He stated:
“Gentlemen, we have watched with keen interest the developments in our party, especially concerning zoning. Our position is that first, we are committed to the unity of our party and we have worked hard to make sure that this party remains a strong and viable vehicle to rescue Nigeria come 2023.
“Be that as it may, we want to draw your attention to the fact that we have agreed as southern governors in Lagos and also in Delta that this party has to respect the zoning principle as enshrined in our constitution, and to that effect, we feel that the best thing to do is to zone the presidency to the south, and we stand on that position.
“We have not seen any reason to change our position, because the Party was founded on the basis of equity and justice. And we also think that equity and justice are important pillars that will ultimately stabilise our politics towards our journey in rescuing Nigeria. This is our position and that is why we have met today.”
The governor dismissed suggestions that opening the ticket would enhance the PDP’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential poll, saying, “You haven’t told me why zoning will not give us victory.”
He, however, refused to be drawn to speculation as he insisted: “We don’t want to work on speculation.”
Ikpeazu noted that ater its deliberations, the committee recommended three options to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party including zoning the presidency to the south, throwing the ticket open or allowing the NEC to take a final position on their own.
Crisis rocks PDP as party leaders lambast Wike over utterances, actions
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that there are all indications that all is no well with the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of its presidential primaries.
It was reported that plans by governors on the platform of the PDP to ensure that one of them emerges as the party’s presidential candidate may have suffered a setback.
The new development was due to the unfriendly utterances by the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state against some of his colleagues, party chieftains and presidential aspirants in the party.
Source: Legit.ng
