2011: PDP May Discard Zoning

ABUJA, April 28, (THEWILL) - There are strong indications that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have started considering discarding the application of zoning formula for the 2011 elections.

Presently the leadership is said to be under pressure from some pro democracy groups who consider the formula as undemocratic and unconstitutional and are pushing for its removal from the PDP rules ahead of the elections.

Sources hinted that the leadership of the party have started considering the agitation and may have to review the laws of the party to that effect.

If the agitation yields result, the coast will be clear for Acting President Goodluck Jonathan who is from the South South to contest in the 2011 Presidential election though the north is insisting that it still has four years to go out of the eight years Presidency started by ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua, in line with the PDP zoning formula.

Indications that the party may succumb to the agitation came to the fore Tuesday when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting stressed that anybody can run for the office of the President irrespective of the zone he comes from.

Jonathan who is the leader of the party owing to his position as Acting President said there is nothing wrong for people to have ambition but charged aspirants not to destabilize the unity of the party in the process of pursuing their ambitions.

However a source close to the leadership of the party said the issue of zoning was one of the key issues discussed by party chiefs at a meeting preceding the general NEC meeting adding that some influential members including those from the north pushed for the removal of the zoning formula.

This he said is as a result of divisions among some powerful blocs in the North who seek to use the removal of the formula to divide the camp of their political opponents who have strong followership in the south.

It was gathered that some of them have started queuing behind the Acting President as an option following the disagreement by some powerful northern element on whether to support former Military President Ibrahim Babangida or former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Already some groups in the north have started campaigning for continuity in the Presidency and advocated for the Jonathan Presidency in order to continue with the development agenda and the 2020 economic vision of the present administration.