Throw PDP Presidential Ticket Open For All Zones, – Says Forum Of Former, Serving Reps Members Tell Party

Forum of former and serving members of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday, told the party leadership to throw open the presidential ticket for all the zones to contest.

The Forum also noted that the debate on zoning is a poisoned chalice calculated to shift attention and focus away from the mountain of fake failed promises by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Forum urged PDP men and women, youths and elders to beware of the guile of the failed APC in its attempt to confuse the issues, shift the debate from performance and good governance to ephemeral and mundane issues of zoning and rotation.

Speaking on behalf of the Forum, Hon. Mukhtar Ahmed said that the presidential ticket should be opened to all so that the best candidate will emerge to save the nation from APC quagmire and misrule.

He said that a level playing field should be given and the party should rise above sentiment so that the best hand will emerge to deliver the nation from its present situation.

He said that the party should be more concerned and think more about who can deliver and give the nation good governance.

“In a democratic setting such as ours, particularly so in our very democratic PDP, zoning and rotation at no time in our history have taken the place of the democratic and constitutional to seek any elective office, including the presidency.

“Even when the founding fathers of the party were alive, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was allowed to have his say and the leaders and party members, through their votes, had their way.

“What mattered most to the founding fathers and leaders was getting the right candidate who was sellable, formidable and could assure of good governance and promote democracy.

“Northern leaders at the time based on the wise decision to promote equity, fairness and justice within the party allowed for a North/South power rotation hence President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years in office,” he said.

Explaining further, Ahmed said that the choice of Obasanjo was strategic, adding, “Obasanjo was one of the founders and leaders of the party believed could win the elections and power would be handed over to him because of his military background and international repute. He was also sellable to all Nigerians and detribalized. Therefore, what they did then accords with the point we made earlier about the candidate being formidable and sellable.”

Explaining further on where the zoning system was derailed, Ahmed said, “unfortunately, Obasanjo handed over to late President Musa Yar’Adua, who unfortunately spent only two years and answered the call to the great beyond.

“President Jonathan thereafter took over and spent six years which made the South have 14 years in power at the presidential level. This is why in 2019, leaders of the party in their great wisdom, zoned the ticket to the North.

“If the candidate had won and spent four years, the North would still have had only six years of 20 years of PDP rule. Where then is the equity, fairness and justice within the party in denying the North the opportunity to vie for the ticket of the PDP?

“We, leaders of the party from the defunct Northern region, are not unmindful of the fact that South East, especially, has a major claim to the presidential ticket within the party.

“However, we are also aware that some parts of the former Northern region like the entire Middle Belt in the North Central and the North East also are major claimants not having been in the saddle since the return to democratic rule in 1999.”

The Forum, has, however, enjoined all party members to do everything in their power not to disenfranchise any zone as the Chief goal is to take over the presidency and rescue Nigeria from the intolerable misrule of the APC before they crash the nation on their pyramidal rock of misadventure and cluelessness.