A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Bode George, at the weekend said the zoning committee of his party had only made a recommendation by saying the Presidential ticket should be thrown open, urging the National Executive Committee (NEC) “to listen and feel the pulse of the people on the issue.”
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that George was speaking at a press briefing in Lagos State as permutations for the 2023 presidential ticket of the PDP are being reshaped.
“When the National hears all the voices coming from the country, and they see that this can break or make Nigeria, maybe some sense will come into the discussion,” George said.
“Some people are arguing that President Muhammadu Buhari is not from our party and I laughed and told them that he may not be a member of our party but he is from the North.
“Personally, my view is that the PDP should make a definitive statement that this thing is zoned to the South, so that we will be seen as not only obeying the law of our party, we will appear before that lady of justice blindfolded with the sword and the scale. She doesn’t care who you are, the truth will come out and I am saying this for posterity’s sake.
“If we start counting from 1960, together with the military era, how many people have occupied this position from the north and how many from the south? We should stop counting from 1999; it is half-measured counting. The party must come out and be honest and say that this thing must go to the south.
“Though, we don’t have the power to override our national Constitution which gives every Nigerian the right to contest for any position of the land except you are an ex-convict. We must be strong enough, to tell the truth to power, that is the very fundamental of democracy.”
