…Wants PDP presidential ticket thrown open
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
As political alignment for the 2023 general elections gathers momentum, a pressure group within the Peoples Democratic Party known as PDP Justice and Equity group, has advised that the presidential ticket of the party should not be zoned to any part of the country.
The group in a memo signed on behalf of the group by Eng Hon Ahmed Muhktar, Hon Yemi Arokodare and Barrister Chima Ndugbu and sent to the Chairman of PDP zoning committee, Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State said that the ticket should be an open race where members of the party from both the north and south of the country are free to aspire to the office of the president of Nigeria.
While saying that the incoming President should hold the position with utmost sense of responsibility, the concerned members of the PDP Justice and Equity group expressed firm belief that the interest of the party will be better served when there is no polarity in the contest especially that arising from regional or zonal sentiments.
The group argued that the PDP, as an opposition party, cannot afford the luxury of boxing itself into a regional or sectional corner.
The group argued that the zoning the office of the president to any section of the country will drive the party into a costly error, the group pointed out that what the PDP needs, at this time, is an open and inclusive race in which no member or section of the country will be excluded.
The PDP Justice and Equity group cautioned the main opposition party in the country to shun the luxury of taking certain liberties, but instead, be guided by pragmatism and practical realities.
In their memo titled , “Our Case Against Zoning”, the group said, “We are concerned members of PDP Justice and Equity Group an amalgamation of like minds interested in the triumph of PDP in 2023.
“Our position is that the presidency should not be zoned to either the south or north of the country.
“Rather, it should be an open race where members of the party from both the north and south of the country are free to aspire to the office of the president of Nigeria. We hold this position with utmost sense of responsibility.
“It is our firm belief that the interest of the party will be better served when there is no polarity in the contest especially that arising from regional or zonal sentiments.
“We equally recognize the fact that the PDP as an opposition party is constrained in some ways. It cannot afford the luxury of boxing itself into a regional or sectional corner.
“Zoning the office of the president to any section of the country will drive it into this costly error.
“What the party needs at this time is an open and inclusive race in which no member or section of the country will be excluded.
“As a matter of fact, the PDP as an opposition party must shun the luxury of taking certain liberties. It should, instead, be guided by pragmatism and practical realities.
“And the reality here is that the party will stand stronger in the forthcoming presidential election if it forges a common bond that emphasizes neither north nor south.
“With a pan-Nigerian disposition, the PDP will be in a better shape and state to win the 2023 presidential election.Indeed, we must recognize that the issue before us is about electoral contest.
“After the primary election, the PDP will not be contesting the election against itself. Rather, it will square up with another formidable political party- the All Progressives Congress (APC)- which also happens to be the ruling party.
“If the PDP must win the race, it must close ranks. It must shun any arrangement that could bring about grievance and feeling of exclusion.
“It should, instead, go into the race more united and more formidable than ever before. An open, free, fair and inclusive primary election will guarantee the party this winning edge.
“We are also of the considered opinion that zoning will make the strategy of the PDP towards the 2023 presidential election easily predictable.
“Since every move of the APC suggests that it will zone its presidential ticket to the south, the PDP should try its hands on a certain form of unpredictability.
“The party should introduce an element of surprise into the game by relying on the oft-repeated aphorism that surprise is the best form of attack.
“An opposition party that throws itself open to predictability can be ambushed by the ruling party. Its strategies will become open and can therefore be exploited to the advantage of the ruling party.
“A no-zoning arrangement by PDP will inflict this surprise element on the ruling APC.This brings us to the ultimate point of our departure with advocates of zoning.
“We canvass the no-zoning arrangement on the basis of strategy. Having known what the ruling party is offering, the PDP will do itself a world of good if it does not adopt an approach whose outcome will be too well known.
“Besides, an open contest such as the one we are advocating will make it possible for the party to make the most democratic choice at the end of the day.
“Whenever a candidate emerges without let or hinderance, such a candidate will come without baggage or hangup. He will be for all and will likely be supported by all”, it said.
The group strongly appealed to the PDP, through its 37-member national committee on zoning to be wise and properly guided in the matter.
