Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be heading for another crisis similar to what caused it the presidential election in 2015 if the statement made by one of its chieftains and former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, is anything to go by.
Aliyu had in Minna last Friday said the party had rezoned the 2023 presidential ticket to the North, specifically claiming that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been narrowed down for the ticket.
A similar action by the party in 2015 caused it the presidency when former President Goodluck Jonathan insisted on contesting the presidency for a second term, an action that some elements within the party opposed because there was “an agreement” that Jonathan will spend only one term after the demise of his principal, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The incident and other developments tore the party apart and consequently aided the now All Progressives Congress (APC) to clinch the presidency with Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate then.
Aliyu, who was a principal figure in the crisis that engulfed the party then, told members of the Atiku Support Organisation (ASO) that visited him at his Minna, Niger State residence, that the leadership of the party (PDP) has rezoned the presidency to the North and that Atiku is the favoured choice for the plum job.
He, however, did not say when and where the decision was taken.
According to the former governor, “In our zoning agreement, we have agreed to rezone it to the North as requested by others, but we have agreed written and openly as a result of what has happened that any candidate from any part of the country can now contest this election.”
Aliyu advised the group to extend their visit to all parts of the country in order to ensure that the former vice president emerges the standard bearer of the party.
The National Coordinator of the group, Dr. Victor Moses, said they were in Niger State to brief Aliyu on their activities and appreciated his support for the state PDP.
However, in a statement issued at the weekend, a stalwart of the PDP in the state, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed Usman, distanced the party from Aliyu’s remarks, saying: “We are also not aware that PDP in the state or any of its organs has taken any decision on the issue of the presidency of 2023; for now, the party is busy receiving thousands of members and strategising.”
In the statement titled: ‘Re: PDP Has Agreed to Rezone Presidency to the North,’ which Aliyu made available to THISDAY in Minna, Usman said: “If the former governor said it, he was rather not strategic in his communication, and if the newspapers misquoted him, which I doubt, then it is a mischief to set PDP up for a backlash.
“The truth is that PDP has said through its various organs that the presidency in 2023 is left ‘open’ for all qualified and interested aspirants to contest, and there was nothing like zoning of the presidency. So what are you rezoning?
Usman continued that: “The PDP has consistently maintained that the presidency the party platform in 2023 is not zoned, talk more of ‘rezoning’, adding: “The PDP is also not unmindful of APC trying to blackmail the party into taking a wrong decision to capitalise on it in 2023.”
He said there has been an ongoing debate as to which zone is most appropriate to have the PDP presidency, saying that many stalwarts of the party and even aspirants have canvassed their positions but no concrete decision has been taken.
Usman said as loyal members of the party, “what is most important is to get all competent hands to run and salvage the country from the brink.”
