Despite the popular clamour for power shift to the South in 2023, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, and some other chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have intensified moves to ensure that the party throws open its presidential ticket, THISDAY has learnt.
Though the PDP has set up a 37-man committee to consider the issue of zoning of the presidential ticket, Atiku, Tambuwal, and others with presidential ambition have lobbied the various stakeholders to abandon the issue of zoning the ticket to any particular region.
While Tambuwal had embarked on consultation over his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election, Atiku will make a public declaration on Wednesday.
The former vice president had also spoken against zoning, urging the PDP to be guided by the spirit of fairness and equity in determining its presidential candidate in 2023 rather than zoning the ticket along ethnic consideration.
On his part, Gana has told members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP that the party should not zone its presidential ticket to any region due to exigencies of time.
THISDAY gathered that at the first meeting of the 37-member committee held immediately after the NEC meeting on Thursday, the 19 northern states opted for an open contest in line with Gana’s recommendation at the meeting.
It was gathered that Cross River, Imo, and Edo states also threw their weight behind the open contest, bringing the number of states clamouring for an open contest to 22 states out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The party also went ahead to commence the sale of forms to all interested presidential aspirants on March 17, fuelling speculations that the presidential ticket would not be zoned.
A source at the PDP national secretariat told THISDAY that the action of the party is like putting the cart before the horse.
“What is the essence of the 37-man committee when everyone interested in the contest is allowed to pick the presidential ticket,” he queried.
The presidential nomination form is sold at N35 million and the expression of interest forms cost N5 million.
He said the sale of the nomination form to Atiku is a clear confirmation that the party will not zone the ticket.
“Those agitating for zoning to Southern Nigeria should now get ready to face other parts of the country in the forthcoming May 28, 2022, PDP Special National Convention to elect a presidential candidate.”
He added that the sale of forms commenced March 17 and would end on April 1, while the 37-man committee was given 14 days to conclude its work. According to him, the essence of the committee was basically to douse tension at the NEC meeting.
He noted that the last date for the submission of completed forms is April 15.
Atiku will publicly declare his presidential ambition in Abuja on Wednesday, according to a letter signed by Chief Raymond Dokpesi, dated March 18.
Atiku was Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo on the platform of PDP.
He ran as Governor of Adamawa State in 1990, 1997 and later, in 1998, elected before becoming Obasanjo’s running mate during the 1999 presidential election and re-elected in 2003.
In 2007, he resigned from the PDP and contested presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) and lost to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later defected to the PDP where in 2011 he contested against President Goodluck Jonathan and lost again.
In 2015, he defected to the newly merged All Progressives Congress (APC) and lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2018, he defected to the PDP and contested for the presidential election and lost. He is contesting again for the presidency on the platform of
the PDP. He picked the presidential nomination form last week preparatory for the 2023 presidential election.
His decision to contest again is generating uproar from PDP members from the South who believe that it is their turn to produce the next president, after President Buhari as the presidency is expected to rotate between North and South.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Mr. Benson Abounu has obtained the PDP nomination form to succeed Governor Samuel Ortom. He came to public limelight when he contested for governorship on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and thereafter served as special adviser to Governor Moses Adasu from 1992 to 1993.
Abounu was appointed as commissioner from 1999 to 2005. He chaired the board of the Nigerian Television Authority between 2009 and 2011.
Abounu contested the 2015 general election as running mate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom successfully. Consequently, He was inaugurated as the deputy governor of Benue State on 29 May 29, 2015. In 2018 he moved with Governor Ortom to the PDP and both were re-elected in March 2019.
In a related development, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu, has also obtained PDP nomination form to contest for Ogun State governorship.
At the Age of 30, he won his seat in the National Assembly in 1992 where he represented the Remo Federal Constituency on the platform of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). He ran for Senate on the platform the United National Congress Party (UNCP) in 1998 and the National Assembly in 2003, 2007 and 2011 as a member of the PDP. In 2015, during the general election, Adebutu was elected into the National Assembly to represent the interests of the Remo, Sagamu and Ikenne constituency.
Anyim to Obtain PDP Nomination Form Tuesday
Meanwhile, a former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, is expected to purchase his presidential nomination form on Tuesday.
A source at Anyim’s presidential campaign office told THISDAY that over 340 members of Anyim’s presidential support group would purchase the form.
Anyim’s presidential bid received a big boost on Saturday as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter executives of the PDP endorsed his aspiration.
The endorsement was announced when the FCT PDP executives met with the presidential aspirant in Abuja as part of his consultations.
Receiving the politicians in his campaign office, the former President of the Senate said he was fully aware of the social, political, and developmental needs of the FCT.
According to the PDP presidential aspirant, he had lived all his working life in the FCT since 1989.
“FCT is the landlord of Nigeria and I am one of you. When I completed my NYSC in Sokoto State in 1989, I moved down to Abuja and I have remained here till date,” he explained.
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