By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been holding consultative talks with chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the north, days after he rejected zoning of the party’s presidential ticket.
Atiku has recently said that the president of Nigeria can come from any zone, and that if the PDP wants to return to Aso Rock in 2023, it should leave the ticket of the party open to all contenders.
PDP leaders from the South have been making the case for the party’s presidential ticket to be zoned to the South, echoing Southern governors who earlier took the decision.
Governors elected on the PDP platform have also recently voted for the party’s national chairman’s position to be zoned to the North, a tacit endorsement for the South to produce the party’s presidential candidate.
Atiku, reading the body language of the governors, has been holding consultative meetings with party chieftains in the north
He met with governors of the PDP in Bauchi on Thursday, October 7. The following day, he met with some chieftains of the party, including the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and a former majority leader of the Senate, Abdul Ningi among other chieftains. The meetings, analysts say, is for the former Vice President to rally support for his presidential bid which could be truncated if the party accedes to zoning.
