A former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mark Jacob, says the opposition party has not zoned its presidential ticket to the Northern part of the country.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that this assertion is coming at a time when the struggles for political power among the political gladiators were rising up ahead of the party’s national convention slated for October 30 and 31.
Recall that a national newspaper had reported that there was a high likelihood that the PDP would pick its presidential candidate for the 2023 elections from the northern part of the country.
The paper also said the party’s stakeholders are set to zone the chairmanship position of the party to the South.
But during its 92nd National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting at the weekend, the party had announced that it would arrive at a zoning formula for the National Working Committee, NWC, at a meeting billed for September 9.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show, on Monday, Mr Jacob who is also a former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Kaduna State, dismissed any insinuation about zone the ticket to the North.
He said: “Nobody has discussed anything on zoning in our party. We have not zoned out party’s presidential ticket to the North.
“In fact the feeling among members is that it should be zoned to the Southern part of the country.”
According to him, although it’s democracy and every member has the right to their opinion, the party would not take unpopular opinion from any of its members.
Meanwhile, a political commentator, Adetayo Balogun, has warned the PDP against zoning its presidential ticket to the North.
Speaking with journalists on Monday in Abuja, Mr Balogun said discussions about the region to produce the next President have begun and the PDP shouldn’t make the mistake of giving the ticket to the North.
“In searching for the next President, there’s a debated preference for a Southerner to emerge; however, a section of the populace and those in the political space have clamoured for a united approach to the determination of the next President,” he said.
But on his part, Katch Ononuju, the Director-General of the Heritage Centre, in an interview with newsmen, argued that there’s no politician of the northern extraction that can bring Nigerians together again.
Mr Ononuju said many Nigerians would prefer to see a Southerner become President, as the current administration has shown a nepotistic obsession with the North, which may affect the chances of any Presidential candidate from the region.
