The former Governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, has explained why he is supporting the presidential candidate of the All Pro0gressivs Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for the 2023 elections. Nnamani in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, emphasised that he decided to align with Tinubu because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has breached its Constitution, by subverting the principle of power rotation.
He said the PDP’s constitution prescribed that key political offices be rotated between the North and the south to ensure equity, justice and fairness.
The statement reads: ”Conscious of the need to share and rotate key political offices among the diverse people of our country, the PDP constitution clearly states that it shall adhere at all times to the policy of the rotation and zoning of the party and public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity , justice and fairness.
“Even when the PDP national Chairman Iyorchia Ayu made a firm commitment to step down should a Northerner emerge as presidential candidate for 2023 election, the leadership jettisoned the constitutional provision and turned the logic upside down .
“Recalled that the PDP in 2019 allowed the North to contest the primaries for the presidency in Port Harcourt , Rivers State, in which Atiku Abubakar clinched the ticket and contested the election.
“It was expected that in 2023, the PDP in a corresponding manner allows the South to contest for the plum position, but the party in its decision, opened the contest for both the Northern and Southern aspirants.
“In a twist of events and political maneuvering, Atiku Abubakar got the ticket again.
“The outcome of the presidential primaries infuriated southern PDP faithful, including the G5 Governors who insist on respecting the North/ South rotation principle.”
Nnamani asserted that the action of the PDP amounted to injustice and lack of equity, saying that it was morally wrong to leave power in the north after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023.
The senator stated that Buhari in recognition of the North and South power rotation, created a window for political balancing that enabled Tinubu to emerge as APC presidential candidate.
Nnamani declared: “Having critically examined the situation , I found Bola Tinubu as the preferred candidate from the south to foot the bill in 2023.”
NAN