Many political pundits are of the view that aside the issue of zoning, the PDP has every reason to look towards the Southeast in choosing a candidate because of the quality of aspirants from the zone.
By Emma Ogbuehi
As the 2023 presidential race gathers steam and the contending political parties perfect strategies for their primaries, three Southeast presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will meet in Abuja today, Saturday, April 9..
The aspirants – Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa and Mr. Peter Obi – will meet today at 10 am, TheNiche reliably gathered.
Details of the meeting are still scanty as at the time of going to press but it may not be unconnected with the zoning quagmire the PDP is mired in.
While reaffirming that Zoning remains sacrosanct as enshrined in the party’s constitution, the Committee chaired by Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, however, said that due to the exigency of time, it will throw open the presidential ticket to all aspirants.
The Committee recommended that henceforth Zoning should be sorted out at least six months before the sale of forms.
The Southeast region had made a strong case that for purposes of fairness, justice and equity, the ticket should be zoned to the region, having produced neither a president nor vice president since 1999.
But the Ortom-led Committee which met on Tuesday at the Benue State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, thought otherwise.
Though the immediate backlash to the decision made Ortom to issue a disclaimer that no decision had been taken, aggrieved nerves have not been calmed.
The three Southeast aspirants arguably are some of the most qualified of the 13 aspirants jostling for the PDP presidential ticket.
Senator Anyim, the first to declare his aspiration and buy the PDP nomination form is a former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). He is an astute manager of men and resources and a bridge-builder, whose candidacy resonates in all the nooks and crannies of the country.
In Nigeria’s industry management and corporate governance, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, a pharmacist, is a veritable brand. Aside his trail blazing feat in repositioning the pharmaceutical giant, Neimeth, Ohuabunwa, has, at various times, led such credible organisations as Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Economic Summit Group (NESG), Nigerian Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), among others.
Peter Obi, the last of the trio to drop his hat in the ring was governor of Anambra State and vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 elections. His incredible feat as governor of Anambra State speaks eloquently for him.
Many political pundits are of the view that aside the issue of zoning, the PDP has every reason to look towards the Southeast in choosing a candidate because of the quality of aspirants from the zone.
- This is a developing story. Details will be published shortly.