Yerima: APC Constitution Does Not Subscribe to Zoning

•Says he’s running for presidency in 2023

Adedayo Akinwale

A former governor of Zamfara State and stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, has dismissed debates about zoning in the party, saying there is nowhere in the party’s constitution that zoning is expressly stipulated. To that extent, Yerima maintained that he had not shelved the idea of running for presidency in 2023. He said he had already declared his intention to run, citing also, his rights as a citizen of Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists recently in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Yerima, who was famous as governor for enacting and enforcing the Sharia law, explained, “Nigerians should know that democracy is democracy. We are not the one that brought democracy; there is nothing in our constitution that talks about moving power from one place to another.

“Every Nigerian, according to the Nigeria constitution, unless it is amended, has the right to aspire to any political office once he’s qualified. So, it is not wrong for anybody to say he is contesting the election, even from Daura. Any person from Daura local government, where Mr. President comes from, can aspire to be president, governor or anything in Nigeria.

“Some people are political illiterate or maybe mischief-makers. You cannot say this is my turn, because it is about election. All of us are going for election to elect the person that we think should be president. Our problem in Nigeria is that this issue of citizenship has not been accepted fully in Nigeria.”

Blaming the nation’s ethnic fault lines as responsible for the agitations for zoning, Yerima stated, “We still have tribal, ethnic and religious differences, which is very wrong. And until such a time we believe that we are Nigerians, then, the issue of Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw people will continue.“

Affirming his presidential aspiration, he stated, “I’m in the race. I have already declared my intention and I’m mobilising by the grace of God. At least, Mr. President won the election with a little above 15 million and I assure you, before I even declare officially, I would have had 20 million supporters.”