January 08, (THEWILL) – A former governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu, has disclosed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has agreed to rezone the presidency to the North.
Aliyu who disclosed this while receiving the Atiku Support Organisation (ASO) on a visit noted that despite the earlier position of the party that any candidate could contest the election, the party had eventually rezoned the presidency to the North.
The PDP had recently zoned the position of its national chairman to the north-central, leading to the emergence of former President of the Senate, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, as the party’s National Chairman last October.
However, following conventional practises and with regard to the PDP Constitution’s support for zoning, the emergence of Ayu, who is from the North, as national chairman, would mean the emergence of a Southern candidate for the 2023 presidency.
But the party has remained mum on which of the zones will produce its presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
THEWILL recalls that Aliyu, an ardent advocate of power rotation between Southern and Northern Nigeria had in a statement last year said the Northern governors worked against former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 for not abiding by the zoning agreement.
Although, countered by his colleagues that the position was not true, Aliyu on Friday disclosed that the North will produce the next presidential candidate of the PDP, narrowing down to former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
Former Governor Aliyu told the members of Atiku Support Organisation (ASO) during the visit that he was confident of the success of the team, even as he pledged his support.
“In our zoning agreement, we have agreed to rezone it to the North as requested by others but we have agreed written and openly as a result of what has happened that any candidate from any part of the country can now contest this election”, he said.
He urged the group to extend their visit to all parts of the country to ensure that the former vice president emerges the flag bearer of the party and is elected President of Nigeria come 2023..
Earlier, the national coordinator of the group, Dr Victor Moses, said they were in Niger State to brief Aliyu on their activities.
While lauding him for the support thus far, he expressed the confidence that from their consultations, Atiku Abubakar would surely emerge as the party’s candidate.
He said they were ready for any form of primary that would be adopted by the party for Atiku’s success.
About the Author
