2023: New tactics northern politicians bank on to get PDP ticket

As the 2023 presidential election draws closer in Nigeria, there are a lot of intrigues and controversies over the region that will produce the next President of the country.

On the platform of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, the battle for the presidential ticket of the party has been going on between the northern politicians and southern politicians in the party.

While the northern political politicians in PDP want to fly the presidential ticket of the party, the southern Governors on the other hand are insisting on the zoning of the presidential ticket to their region.

The southern politicians had earlier succeeded in zoning the position of the party’s National Chairman to the north that would allow the southern region to produce the presidential candidate of the party.

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Rising from its NEC meeting, the PDP ratified the recommendations of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led Committee on zoning which zoned the party’s chairmanship seat to the north.

While the PDP southern governors may have pulled the first blood, northern politicians are also not resting on their oars, especially those that are nursing presidential ambition.

There is a fresh move by the northern politicians to make the NEC adopt the recommendation of Governor Bala Mohammed-led committee.

The committee headed by Governor Bala Mohammed had recommended that the PDP presidential ticket for 2023 should be thrown open for aspirants to contest.

If the new strategy to adopt the Governor Bala Mohammed-led committee report scales through, the northern politicians in PDP may eventually achieve their goal because of their numbers.

Already a former Vice President of Nigeria who is said to be nursing a presidential ambition in 2023, Atiku Abubakar, has advised the leadership of the party to present a presidential candidate that will stand for the southern and northern part of the country altogether.

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He further stated that the region where such a politician will come is not as important as the success of the political party as a whole.

“They should all know that the leaders of the party in the northern part of the country have not agreed with them on the zoning system, and anything may happen before the commencement of the incoming presidential election.

“All southerners must note that the position of the party may be open to everyone regardless of the region of those politicians involved in the presidential race. Southern leaders have to erase the fact that the presidential ticket will be zoned to the south.

The fact that the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) has earlier rejected the demand made by southern governors concerning the 2023 ticket should have given hints on what may happen ahead of the incoming presidential election.

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