Southern PDP Governors Reject Ortom Committee Position On Zoning

.Insist Presidency Must Be Zoned To The South
By Cosmas Chukwu

Early reports filtering in from the Akwa Ibom House venue of the South PDP Governors meeting indicate that all has not been heard about the issue of zoning of the PDP presidential ticket.

Piqued by the Gov Samuel Orton Committee on zoning of the presidency’s declaration that the issue would be an all-comers affair,leaders and stakeholders of the party in South including the governors have kicked against that decision.
This is coming on the heels of reported zoning of the same office to the South by hot rival APC.

And this as the next year’s general election draws nearer, raising serious concerns on the fortunes of the PDP if will abandon the traditional base support it had being receiving from the South, the governors from the South on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, have insisted that the 2023 presidential ticket be zoned to the South for fairness and equity.

Of more serious concern are reports that the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom-led 37-man PDP zoning committee had earlier reportedly recommended that the 2023 ticket be thrown open.

An impeccable source at the governors’ meeting intimated me this early morning that rising from their meeting in the early hours of Saturday in Akwa Ibom House, Abuja, the PDP Southern Governors stressed that they were committed to the party’s unity.

They insisted that the best thing to do for the unity of the party was to zone the presidential ticket to the South.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Vice Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Okezie Ikpeazu said they have watched with keen interest the developments in the party, especially concerning zoning.

He stated that “our position is that first, we are committed to the unity of our party and we have worked hard to make sure that this party remains a strong and viable vehicle to rescue Nigeria come 2023.

“Be that as it may, we want to draw your attention to the fact that we have agreed as Southern Governors in Lagos and also in Delta that this party has to respect the zoning principle as enshrined in our Constitution, and to that effect, we feel that the best thing to do is to zone the presidency to the South, and we stand on that position.”

He continued, “we have not seen any reason to change our position, because the Party was founded based on equity and justice. And we also think that equity and justice an important pillars that will ultimately stabilize our politics towards our journey in rescuing Nigeria.

“This is our position and that is why we have met today”.

On media reports that the zoning committee threw it open because of the number of aspirants that have already purchased the forms, he lambasted the committee for taking a critical decision based on that

Ikpeazu said: “Let me tell you something, if you want to take a position of policy, you don’t look at problems in their face and take a decision. You take a decision and remain firm on that decision.

“We think what this country is lacking today is our ability to dispense equity and justice. It may be difficult, it may be a bitter pill but we need to stand with the truth”.

In attendance at the meeting included the Governor of Enugu State,Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi , the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel,and Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri .