The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been contending with the crisis of zoning of the presidential ticket in the build up to the 2023 general elections, what many party stakeholders considered as self-inflicted crisis or manifestations of mistakes of the past. Some elders of the PDP have noted that the Party evolved internal mechanism of deciding power equation of the PDP from inception in 1999, but that this was obstructed by the coming into power of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
A former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George, speaking on the Morning Show of ARISE TV on Monday, monitored by National Daily from Lagos, emphasized that PDP elders are holding consultations, deliberating on how best to resolve all the lingering crisis in the party that will be acceptable to all party members, including the agitations for zoning of the presidential ticket to the south.
Bode George declared that the PDP never expected that another party would take over power from the party that soon. He maintained that the PDP never thought that a strong party would ever emerge, such as the All Progressives Congress (APC) alliance, did to defeat the PDP as in 2015.
The former Deputy National Chairman noted that the PDP is contending with mistakes of the past, advocating that the current party leadership must avoid those mistakes of the past. He said that the PDP elders are holding high level consultations on the zoning controversies, adding that there are parameters for deciding the presidential candidate of the party.
Bode George also said that the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, has indicated that he will resign the leadership of the party if the presidential candidate emerges from the north. He noted that PDP leaders are making progress with the negotiations.
The PDP suffered defeat in 2015 after prominent party leaders defected to the APC to reinforce the then opposition party to defeat the PDP in the elections. The party leaders were protesting the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan as PDP candidate for the 2015 presidential race; they dumped President Jonathan to align with the APC so that the PDP will lose power at the center.
Jonathan was out, later most of the defectors to the APC returned to the PDP for the 2019 elections.
In the ongoing agitations, the PDP is now battling with zoning of the presidential ticket. The various stakeholders have their peculiar plank of arguments.
Bode George expressed that zoning or power rotation may be easily done in the APC since the north has taken eight years of two tenures, he noted that the situation is complicated in the PDP. George, however, assured that the PDP elders will continue the discussion, consultation, and will come up with what will satisfy all party members.
The elder statesman also emphasized that the party has parameters of selecting candidates for elections. He stated that the PDP is also committed to ensuring equity and fairness in the party.
The former Deputy National Chairman acknowledged that some party members have declared for the presidential race, noting that others will declare subsequently, then, a decision will be made on who should be the party’s candidate.
PDP stakeholders in the north are opposing the zoning of the President to the south. Some northern PDP stakeholders who include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Governor Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, have been linked with consultations for the PDP 2023 presidential ticket.
From the southeast, former President of the Senate, Anyim Pius Anyim, and an industrialist, Sam Ohabunwa, have joined the presidential race on the platform of the PDP. Others are expected to join the race as the party continues deliberations and working out the guidelines for the primary elections.