By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has asked Nigerians of all geopolitical zones to keep faith with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because it is the only party that believes in Nigeria. The appeal comes on the heels of agitation by PDP chieftains and supporters from the South East for the zone to be handed the presidential ticket of the party in the 2023 elections.
Only last week, supporters of Atiku in the South East urged him to shelve his 2023 presidential ambition and side with the zone to produce an Igbo president. But the idea was countered by the former vice president’s supporters in the North who insisted that the voting strength of the South East makes that decision untenable.
The PDP is also faced with a threat of defection of one of its governor’s in the South East, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State.
The Ebonyi governor has told the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) that he would be defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to protect the interest of the South East in the 2023 election. If that happens, the PDP will be left with only two out of the five South East states, becoming minority in a zone it used to dominate politically.
But Atiku advised that the PDP offers a pan Nigerian platform as opposed to the others that are regionally inclined.
“The Peoples Democratic Party is the best friend Nigeria could have. All geopolitical zones deserve a political party that believes in Nigeria and not a party that believes otherwise.
“The PDP has much to offer all parts of Nigeria, and I urge all Nigerians in all zones to keep faith with a party that has kept faith with Nigeria and will be equitable to all,” he said in a tweet on November 16.
Atiku’s tweet, some analysts have said, may be in response to the growing agitation and threat of defection plaguing the party.
Those agitating believe that he plans to contest the presidency again in 2023, perhaps taking Peter Obi as his running mate.
