Peoples Democratic Party Zoning Committee made up of 37-persons on Tuesday throws open its presidential ticket to all aspirants.
The decision came after a meeting on Tuesday at the Benue State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.
The NIGERIAN OBSERVER learnt that the Committee threw open the ticket “due to exigency of time” saying “zoning, as in our party constitution, is affirmed.”
The document reads:
“Recommendations of PDP Zoning Committee
“1. Zoning, as in our party constitution, is affirmed.
“2. Inspite of (1) above, (the) Ticket is thrown Open, this time around due to exigency of time.
“3. Our Party is encouraged to always make the issue of zoning very clear at least 6 months before sales of forms.
“4. Our Party should commend the efforts of some of our contestants on the issue of consensus candidacy; the efforts should be seen to a peaceful and logical conclusion.”
Recall that on March 16, 2022, the party’s National Executive Committee, at its 95th meeting, instituted a 37-man Committee comprising members from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to recommend a zoning formula for the various electoral offices ahead of next year’s polls.
Addressing journalists at the end of the Tuesday meeting, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom stated, “by the Grace of God, we have unanimously adopted a position that will be sent to the NEC of our party that appointed us.
“The good news for the teeming supporters of the PDP and Nigerians is that we have resolved and every one of us -the 37 members, unanimously adopted the position that we are going to present to NEC.”
Although Ortom did not give details about the zoning formula, The NIGERIAN OBSERVER learned that the Committee had resolved to persuade NEC to throw open the Presidential race to all aspirants, irrespective of their zones.
According to a senior party source who spoke shortly after the meeting said the party would throw open the presidential ticket rather than confine it to a region.
The source said, “Reference was made to the 10 states with the highest turnout of voters in the 2019 elections. Of these 10, nine were Northern states and only Lagos made the list. Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina had the highest voter turnout while Lagos came a distant fourth.
“Aspirants should be allowed to test their popularity at the primary election but if they choose to adopt a consensus approach, that will be acceptable to the party. It is a position every member of the committee was comfortable with.”
During the 2019 general elections, PDP zoned its presidential ticket to the North.
The party argued that the zone still had an uncompleted tenure following the demise of former President Umaru Yar’Adua, on May 5, 2010, who only served for two years and 11 months.
As a result, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged the presidential candidate at the 2018 primary held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a related development, a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has resigned his membership in the Zoning Committee.
In a letter addressed to Governor Ortom before the commencement of Tuesday’s meeting, Fayose argued that his status as a presidential aspirant in the PDP disqualified him to sit on the Committee.
The letter read, “Having hinted during our last meeting of my intention to run for the Office of the President in the coming primary election and by God’s grace, the general election, it will not be morally right to continue to participate in the zoning debate being an aspirant myself.
“Therefore, my state has nominated the bearer of this letter, Dr Gbenga Faseluka, to replace me.”
Present at the meeting were Governors Darius Ishaku of Taraba; former Deputy National Chairman Bode George, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, former governors Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina)., Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna),) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa).
Others include Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Chairman, PDP Disciplinary Committee, Tom Ikimi and former Minister of Special Duties Intergovernmental Relations, Tanimu Turaki, and others too numerous to mention.
