The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be facing uncertainty over the agitation for zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket to the south., which is being resisted by the party’s northern stakeholders The PDP national chairman, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, was said to have indicated that he will voluntarily resign, when a decision is made on zoning and the party’s presidential ticket is zoned to the north.
A chieftain of the PDP, Bode George, in a media interaction on ARISE TV on Monday, monitored by National Daily from Lagos, expressed that discussions are going on in the party on zoning and other issues. He disclosed that the PDP National Chairman had said that he will resign if the presidential ticket is zoned to the north. The resignation of Ayu could pave way for the party’s national chairman slot to be returned to the south. Bode George, a former Deputy national Chairman, observed that the PDP has a template of power sharing among the various zones to ensure equity and fairness from the beginning. He stated that Ayu is a founding member of the PDP and understands the party’s tradition and power equation system.
Bode George further said that the PDP will set up a committee on zoning which will come up with a formula of power sharing that will be equitable and fair to all members. He reiterated that the PDP has a framework for power distribution, pointing out that the only problem is that the zoning agreement was not written down. He affirmed that the founding fathers of the PDP came up with the idea of zoning to ensure fairness in the party.
He stated that there has been that tradition for the national chairman of the party to be from the south when the president is from the north; and vice versa.
Bode George reiterated that PDP would negotiate its own power framework and will not be influenced by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where the president from the north will be completing eight years in office in 2023. He reaffirmed that the PDP has its means of power sharing and will rely on it in the negotiations for 2023 election tickets.
Bode George, however, stated that whoever emerges as PDP presidential candidate must have the capacity to solve Nigeria’s problems.