PDP NEC Meets Wednesday On Zoning Of Presidency

Barring any last-minute change of schedules, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will on Wednesday meet to decide on the report of its 37-man committee headed by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.

The committee had recommended that the party should throw open the presidential ticket of the party to all interested party members.

This is coming as an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai has urged the main opposition party to adhere to the principle of zoning and zone its presidential ticket to the South-east for the sake of equity and stability.

Despite the clamour for a power shift to the South, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former President of the Senate, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and the Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal yesterday intensified consultations on their presidential ambition, lamenting that the current administration led by APC has shattered the hopes of Nigerians.

This is just as the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, urged the ruling party to fix the universities and end the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with the huge funds generated from the sale of its presidential nomination forms.

The PDP NEC had in its meeting set up a 37-man committee to discuss and advise the party on where to zone its presidential ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
Before the submission of the report to NEC, the report, which recommended that all the geo-political zones should be allowed to run, was leaked to the media.

The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu submitted the committee’s report on behalf of Ortom.

In their separate comments, the National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and Elumelu had stated that only the NEC of the party would have the final say on the vexed issue of zoning after debating the outcome of the committee’s report.

Ayu promised that the committee’s recommendations would be transmitted to the NEC, which would take a final decision.

According to him, the decision would be made known to “party members across the country and all Nigerians who are eagerly awaiting the final decision of your committee.”

Sources close to the 37-man committee had stated that the party’s leadership was more interested in how to win the presidential election than zoning of the presidency which might hamper their effort to regain power in 2023.

However, the governors of the party from the South rose from their meeting in April, insisting that the presidential ticket of the party must be zoned to the South.

The NEC meeting after suffering several adjustments is expected to hold on Wednesday to bring the issue to rest. This was confirmed by the National Secretary of PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
He said that the earlier shift was due to the local government delegate election.