Zone Presidential Ticket To South-East For Stability, Equity, Yakassai Tells PDP

The 97-year-old Alhaji Tanko Yakasai is an elder statesman and Second Republic politician. The nonagenarian, who was then President Shehu Shagari’s Political Adviser, has urged the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South for the sake of stability and justice.

He also that the APC has no reason not to zone its presidential ticket to the South as the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari comes to an end by 2023 having been elected in 2015.

He said: “The presidential ticket of the APC is expected to rotate between North and South.”

Tanko Yakassai said: “Though the timing is not ripe now as the PDP could have decided the zoning of its presidential ticket at least six months before now, for equity and stability of the country, the PDP should zone its presidential ticket to the zone that has not produced it since the return to democracy after several years of military rule.

“My advice to the PDP as the party meets on Wednesday to discuss where the presidential ticket of the party will come from, I think that much as the timing is late, the party should listen to the voice of reason and give the South-east that opportunity. This will help reduce the tension in the country and help stabilise the country. We are in real danger over this agitation to shift power to the South,” he explained.

He described the support of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) for the North to retain power as a harbinger of crisis, insisting that it is not the fault of anybody that the north presented an incompetent person for the presidency in 2015.

“From 2015 to 2023, the presidency of the country would have stayed in the North and therefore for equity and stability power should shift to the south and in fact to the geopolitical zone that have not have it since the return of democracy.”

According to Yakassai, “the APC is duty-bound to ensure that power shifts to the South.”

“For the PDP, it is not the party in power, but for the stability and giving a sense of belonging, I would support that it is zoned to the South and in the South-east in particular. This will help to heal the wounds of the nation as was the case in 1999 went the country was bleeding as the result of the June 12 agitation”