The leading opposition political party in Nigeria, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has hinted at a plan to discard zoning as a criterion for picking its presidential candidate for the 2023 election cycle, causing conflict ahead of the much-anticipated polls.
The party’s decision is motivated by the recommendation of a committee set up to investigate its loss at the 2019 general election that saw its candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lose to All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
The committee, set up by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), and headed by Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, also has members that include the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, former senator, Stella Omu and Emmanuel Agbo, who served as secretary.
In its report submitted in Nigeria yesterday, the committee recommended that the 2023 presidential ticket should be thrown open to all Nigerians irrespective of tribe, region and religion. The committee stated that merit and capability was imperative going into the next election cycle despite previous arrangements that pushed the party’s ticket to the North East and South East geopolitical zones.
Ploy To Put Another Northerner In Power
While the party is yet to come to a final decision on the zoning dilemma, leadership from the South East and South South have condemned the committee’s suggestion, accusing the PDP leadership of selling out to the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, and former President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, both of who they claimed are eyeing the top job in 2023.
Vocal about the decision, the leadership of the Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and its counterpart, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), have stated that they remained irrevocably committed to the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction by 2023. “For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians agreed on the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South, in which case it is the turn of the South after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari,” their statement read.
Besides the call on the PDP to dump zoning, which the party has made an article of faith since coming to power in 1999, the committee also called for an immediate restructuring of the country. From supporting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its quest for fairness and transparency to creating space for younger people and women on the leadership table following the #EndSARS protests, the committee’s report if ratified, could change the PDP structure moving forward.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
