Group Urges Political Parties to Zone Presidential Tickets to South-east

Group Urges Political Parties to Zone Presidential Tickets to South-east

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Ahead of the 2023 general election, a group under the auspices of United for Better Nigeria Initiative (UBNi) has urged all the political parties in the country to zone their presidential tickets to the South-east region.

The National Coordinator of the group, Mrs. Nkolika Mkparu-Okeke, while responding to the report submitted by the committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which advised that the presidential ticket should be thrown open to all zones, in a statement issued yesterday, said zoning the presidency to the Southeast would bring unity to the country.

She noted that Southeast and Northeast are the only regions that have not had a shot at the presidency.

Mkparu-Okeke said no one from the South-east region has been a presidential standard bearer of a major political party in Nigeria.

According to her, “It is, therefore, a worthy cause to adhere to the conventional method of zoning by the PDP such that a candidate from the Southeast becomes the next president of our dear country. This will bring about cohesion and further bind the cords of unity that have brought us this far as a country, and which is greatly needed at this juncture in our collective life.

“We advise that other political parties, including the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), zone their presidential standard bearers to the South-east region because it is the right thing to do and it is a way of compensating the zone for their longstanding dedication and unalloyed support garnered in previous elections, including the 2019 presidential elections.”

Mkparu-Okeke added that the Southeast is the more marginalised, and therefore deserving of the highest political office in the country more.

The group stressed that at a time like this when the country is experiencing high divisiveness, “this must not be allowed to fester on as the South-east region of the country has seen unparalleled marginalisation at its peak.”

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