By Emma Okereh
Former Commisioner in Edo state, Kazeem Afegbua at the weekend asked the former vice president and the PDP presidential candidate in 2019, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to shelve his 2023 presidential ambition.
In a statement made available to The Authority, Afegbua urged him to drop his ambition on account of age and fair play so that a younger person from the south can run.
This position comes even when Atiku has not formally and publicly declared his interest to contest the 2023 presidential seat.
Afegbua had in the statement averred thus; ‘’Having concluded the convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), with a new leadership that looks promising, the Party will have to rise above board to produce a presidential candidate from the Southern part of the country to complete the narrative. With the abysmal performance of President Muhammadu Buhari on account of age, incompetence and lack of capacity and political will to take deliberate and sustained action to bail out the country from all manner of challenges, it will be immoral for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to continue to express interest in seeking election in the 2023 presidential election having attained the retirement age. He cannot assume the role of a perpetual candidate or professional aspirànt year in, year out, of the party as though the party was established for him alone. It defeats all sense of logic for such an old man to attempt another round of political contestation at a time the general feeling and mood in the country supports a younger Nigerian from the Southern extraction of the country.
‘’For me, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should quit his quest for presidency and support a southern Nigerian candidate in the spirit of fairness, equity and justice, that will assuage the feelings of stakeholders from the Southern part of Nigeria. It will be against the run of play and natural justice for any aspirànt of Northern extraction to show interest in the 2023 presidential election within the Peoples’ Democratic Party threshold. It will offend national sentiments, emotions and logic for anyone from the North to show such interest given our diversities and hetereogenous political configurations. Given PDP’s doctrine of political power balancing and fairness, it will be against its own unwritten rule to cede the ticket to any Northern aspirànt least of all, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
‘’The Southern geopolitical zones of Nigeria have eminently qualified Nigerians and parade great minds who are competent and ready to take a shot at the number one job. Those who are advancing very nebulous theory of seeing the northern population as a stimulant to win the sympathy of the North against the South are either ignorant of the real demographics or at best, just playing the ostrich. No one in the North should take away what belongs to the South. That will be hurting the consciences and feelings of the average southerner. If the argument is to suffice for example, for an Atiku presidency, he will be finishing his first term of four years at age 81. And were he to become a candidate in 2023 again, and per adventure he loses the election, are we, as PDP, going to reserve the position for him or any other Northerner in 2027? These are very curious scenarios which cannot be overlooked. For 2023, an Atiku candidacy will be like promoting an expired product in the face of very compelling reason to look down South in our quest to wrestle power from the fractured APC.
Earlier last year, I was conscripted into the Technical Committee for Atiku presidency. Having attended three meetings of the group, I found my spirit and conscience permanently in conflict with the ethos of justice, fairness and equity, which the south deserves.
A Nigerian of southern extraction deserves to be given unfettered opportunity to represent the party in the 2023 presidential contest. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his northern aspirànts should support the aspiration of an upwardly mobile and younger elements from the South to fly the PDP flag. Anything short of such will be tantamount to standing logic on its head, and a deliberate attempt to undermine the collective interest and aspirations of the Southern aspirànts.’’ He concludes.
