Take a fresh look at your lifestyle.

Zoning: PDP UNDER PRESSURE 

•The Wike challenge for the opposition party

Akani Alaka writes on the ongoing jostling for the presidential ticket of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party against the background of the strong-arm tactics of the guardian angel of the party, Governor Nyesom Wike and the recent zoning formula of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

If he can help it, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who had unarguably assumed the status of a ‘supremo’ in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP would wish that members of the party should stop talking about the 2023 presidency.

After all, he had been successful in ensuring that members of the party in Rivers State can only speak about the possibility of their succeeding him as a governor of the state in 2023 in hushed tones. But Nigeria is not Rivers State. And with the recent signing of the Electoral Act into law further heightening the tempo of political activities across the country, not many politicians will be ready to take the advice of ‘working first for the unity of the party before talking about the choice of presidential candidate’ as usually espoused by Wike.

Therefore, it was not a surprise when a day after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2023 Electoral Act into law, former Vice President Atiku, accompanied by an entourage of his political associates hit the Abeokuta home of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in an obvious continuation of consultations of opinion and political leaders in the country in his bid to throw his hat into the ring for another presidential contest.

Atiku had after his closed-door meeting with his Obasanjo, his former boss enthused that he was confident of getting the PDP presidential ticket for 2023, boasting that he had never failed to get the ticket every time he had contested for it. He also challenged youths to compete with elders rather than asking that they forego their constitutional rights to seek election as president.

You, Will, Be Shocked!

But Wike was not amused. Speaking two days later, the Rivers State Governor condemned the remark by Atiku, which he said amounted to taking delegates that usually vote for presidential candidates at the national convention of political parties for granted.

“I didn’t expect him, frankly speaking, to say that he will always take the ticket of the party. That is going too far and taking the delegates for granted,” said Wike who added that the outcome of the presidential primary of the PDP would shock many people.

Wike, who restated his commitment to do everything that would ensure the return of the PDP to power in 2023, urged members of the party to resist divisive utterances. “People should watch; there will be a shock as far as PDP convention is concerned; people should watch what is going to happen. People like to underrate so many persons and it is not good in politics,” Wike said.

But it was not the first time that Wike has promised shock for PDP presidential aspirants, especially those from the Northern part of the country.

He had especially been critical of the presidential ambition of the former Vice President and those campaigning for him. For one, the Governor had some weeks ago lambasted media mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, for suggesting that the PDP would not zone its presidential ticket to the South-east while campaigning for Atiku.  

Wike had condemned Dokpesi for suggesting that the PDP ticket for the 2023 presidency would not be zoned to the South-east and for also promising the Igbo that Atiku would hand over power to them in 2027 if they support him to get the presidential ticket and get elected to lead Nigeria.  

“At the level of Dokpesi, he said he is a high-chief; going on television to tell people that there is no zoning. I can’t believe this. Even, if somebody is to say it. Is he the one to say it?” queried Wike. “And he has arrogated the power of the party to himself saying when Atiku wins, he will hand it over to the South-east. Is that not the decision of the party? So the party cannot decide at all, Dokpesi has zoned it,” he added.

The Rivers State governor had also on the occasion denied rumours that he had been pencilled down to run as the running mate of the former vice president.

North Or South? APC, PDP Permutations

On the contrary, Wike said the Southern part of the country would make a statement on the 2023 presidency very soon: “Please discountenance all those things you are hearing. The South will make a statement very soon. The day the South makes a statement; Nigerians will know that we’re not joking.”

Well, Wike was part of the Southern Governors’ Forum, which had in a communiqué released at two of its past meetings held in Lagos and Asaba, the capital of Delta State, insisted that the presidency of Nigeria should come South after eight years of President Buhari from Katsina, in the North-west part of the country on May 2023.

On the contrary, Dokpesi had in the course of his campaign for Atiku argued that the decision of zoning was for each party to decide on depending on its circumstances.  

He was proved right with the recent decision of leaders of APC to zone the presidential ticket of their party to the South ahead of their March 26 National Convention.  

The governors of the APC had at the end of their meeting with President Buhari on 22nd February announced that they had adopted a zoning formula that would result in swapping offices held between the North and the South.

This implies that all offices occupied by northerners in the last eight years will go to the South and vice versa. Significantly, the office of national chairman of APC which had been occupied by Southerners – Bisi Akande, John Odigie-Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole before the crisis-induced Mai Mala Buni led National Caretaker Committee has now been zoned to the North-central part of the country.

By convention, when the chairmanship of the party is zoned to the North, the presidency will go South. The PDP had also zoned its national chairmanship position to the North at its National Convention held last December.

Consequently, Iyorcha Ayu, a former president of the Nigerian Senate from Benue State in North-central Nigeria was elected the National Chairman of the party.

But the party had warned then that the zoning done to elect managers of the party at the National Convention would not be relevant in determining where its presidential candidate would come from. As such, aspirants from the Northern part of the country have also kicked off a campaign to get the party’s 2023 presidential ticket.

Aside from Atiku, other Northern aspirants who have kicked off consultations on their plan to be part of the 2023 presidential election on the platform of PDP include former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed.

Defying Zoning Sentiment

The Northern aspirants have been further encouraged to go on with their aspiration with the recent claim by a member of the PDP National Working Committee that the party would either zone its ticket to the North in 2023 or leave it open for anybody from any region of the country who can garner enough support from party members to pick the ticket.

However, those who argued that the ticket should be zoned to the North said the PDP should not copy the APC, which is the ruling party and had been in power since 2015 with a President from the Northern part of the country in charge. On the contrary, they argued that while PDP governed Nigeria for 16 years, a Northerner was only in charge for less than three years.  

Wike himself has neither confirmed if he would run nor not run for the presidency in 2023, though he is being listed as one of those eyeing the seat of President Buhari.

Other Southerners who have signified interest in contesting for the presidency on the platform of the PDP include Senator Pius Anyim, Mr Dele Momodu and Sam Ohuabunwa. Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel is also said to be interested in running for the presidency, though he has not formally declared his interest.

The Southerners had argued that the PDP presidential ticket must be zoned to their side of the country after eight years of Buhari even though the president is from a different party.  

While there was no doubt that the mood in the Southern part of the country was PDP, leaders in the Northern part of the country are insisting that the ticket should be zoned to their part of the country or at worst, thrown open for all contestants from all parts of the country. While the PDP usually claims that it has a solid support base across the country, there is no doubt that the strongest support for the party is in the Southern part of the country.

The PDP currently has governors in 13 out of the 36 states of the federation. Eight of the states are in the South and five in the North. The states are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Enugu, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto and Taraba.

And for one, the people of South-south, South-east have overwhelmingly voted for PDP since 1999. Thus, according to analysts, the people of Southern Nigeria have a legitimate claim to the 2023 presidential ticket of PDP.

Some analysts have thus argued that the best platform for the actualization of the demand of the South-east for the 2023 presidency should be the PDP given the support the region has given to the party since 1999. Anyim, the frontline aspirant from the South-east has repeatedly called on the PDP to respect the zoning principles between the Southern and Northern parts of the country. “The issue of equity, fairness and justice is fundamental.

The federal character is entrenched in every facet of public service which is why it makes sense for the presidency to emerge from the South-east this time. In the PDP constitution, there is also an agreement about the zoning principle regarding rotation between the North and the South with the region micro zoning amongst themselves. The reason is that every section of the country must have a sense of belonging; not following it will be a burden on the conscience of the nation,” Anyim said.

North Can Give PDP Presidency

Thus, the zoning of the APC presidential ticket to the South has further put pressure on the PDP. The fears, according to some analysts, were that with the prevailing sentiment on zoning, the APC may have an advantage over PDP in some of its strongholds like Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom, especially if such candidate is widely acceptable. But the Northern aspirants for PDP presidential ticket had insisted on going ahead with the ambition.  

On the other hand, analysts believe that the APC is still strong enough to perform well in most parts of the North.

However, contrary to such permutations, PDP leaders from the North, including some of the presidential aspirants and their supporters believe that the best way to ensure the return of PDP to the Aso Rock presidential villa in 2023 is to ensure the emergence of a Northern presidential candidate for the party.

The argument is that the huge votes in the North with which the APC earned its two presidential election victories are available for taking, especially since Buhari who was a major factor in his party’s performance will not be on the ballot.

They also believe that with the insecurity still ravaging the Northern part of the country, the PDP is in a position to do well in the region in 2023 if it fielded a candidate from the area. On the other hand, there are also members of the party who believed that none of the governors from the South currently being linked with presidential contest can match Tinubu or Vice President Yemi Osinbajo if either of them emerges as the presidential candidate of the party.  

“It’s clear that the PDP governors who are now in control of PDP don’t want Atiku as their presidential candidate. But do you think any of them can match Tinubu or Osinbajo who, as it is being seen now, enjoy support in some parts of the North?”  

This was unarguably the permutations of the Bauchi State governor when he spoke to journalists after his recent visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Bala had said zoning of the presidency to the South by the APC poses no threat to the PDP while insinuating that his party could get more votes in the North.

“The zoning of Presidency to the South by the APC is not a threat to the PDP because each party is trying to strategise, plan and organise. If we zone to the South, it is open to us to see how it is going to give us more electoral victory or if we put it to the North, it will give us more electoral victory,” he noted.

But he was countered by APC chieftain and Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu. Okechukwu in a statement said Bala’s statement indicated that Nigeria’s unity and prosperity of Nigeria is not uppermost in the PDP calculations. He also argued that contrary to the assertion of the governor, the people of the North will vote for a southern candidate in 2023. “The Bauchi State governor and PDP seem to forget that Nigerians are fair-minded and uphold justice and equity in their voting preferences. That was why the late Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), defeated Alhaji Bashir Tofa in his Kano State home in 1993.

“In 2023, Nigerians are going to repeat that feat by acknowledging President Muhammadu Buhari and APC’s decision to do the right things for national unity peace and progress,” the VON DG said. “To me, the doctrine of swap of offices between the North and the South is a masterstroke by Mr. President and good for APC and Nigerians in every material particular. It is not only a threat to our sister political party, the PDP but also signals their imminent defeat. My friend governor’s reaction seems inspired by a sense of defeatism and phobia for APC.”

Zoning/Wike Challenge for PDP

However, it was learnt that the scheming between the leaders of PDP from the South and the North for the 2023 presidential ticket of the party was threatening the peace in the party.

For one, Wike was said to have fallen out with the Iyorchia Ayu-led NWC of PDP over the latter’s postulations that the ticket should be left open to the North and South. Members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), like the NWC members, also want the ticket opened to both the North and the South. Wike was also said to have fallen out with Tambuwal and Saraki over their presidential ambition.

But he has also been courting other governors, trying to forge a united front for the party ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The Rivers State governor has repeatedly said his main interest was to ensure that the PDP returned to power at the next general election. So far, he has not indicated if he would want to run as the flag bearer to make his wish come to pass.

But while Wike has not declared his intention, Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed during a visit to Rivers last Monday said Nigerians needed to allow the Rivers governor to serve at the national level.

Mohammed, who spoke while flagging off the construction of a bridge in Port Harcourt added that “if Rivers State is lucky to have Wike, Nigerians will be luckier”. The Bauchi State governor noted that though he had disclosed his intention to run for the presidency, he knows in accomplishing that goal, some people are of better quality considered to have such capacity to do much better.

“And there are people that you will do it with them so that at the end of the day if you are doing it, you’re doing it with harmony, you’re doing it with synergy, and you’re doing it with stakeholding in a manner that you will rescue Nigeria from the present situation of maladministration. On behalf of everybody here, I want to say thank you to you because I wish you’ll be given the opportunity to bring this type of vision to the national level where you will be able to come and contribute your quota.”

Some analysts said the statement by the Bauchi governor may well be a form of fence-mending initiative with Wike or indicative of his desire to run with the Rivers State Governor in 2023 depending on the zoning agreement eventually agreed to by the PDP.

Wike did not respond to the praises as well as open invitation by his Bauchi State counterpart to be part of the 2023 presidential race. But with the release of the revised electoral calendar by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which mandates the conclusion of all party primaries by June 3, the zoning decision is one that the PDP will have to decide on very soon.

Wike had repeatedly said the Southern part of the country would make a statement on the 2023 presidency. But it seems the time is running out and the party must in the next few weeks decide where to zone its presidential ticket for 2023.  

Comments
Loading...