The Peoples Democratic Party’s 37-member zoning committee has thrown available its presidential ticket to all hopefuls as its mandate expires on Tuesday.
The decision was made after a meeting on Tuesday at the Benue State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.
The document read:
“Recommendations of PDP Zoning Committee
“1. Zoning, as in our party constitution, is affirmed.
“2. Inspite of (1) above, (the) Ticket is thrown Open, this time around due to exigency of time.
“3. Our Party is encouraged to always make the issue of zoning very clear at least 6 months before sales of forms.
“4. Our Party should commend the efforts of some of our contestants on the issue of consensus candidacy; the efforts should be seen to a peaceful and logical conclusion.”
At its 95th meeting on March 16, 2022, the party’s National Executive Committee established a 37-member committee made up of members from the 36 states of the union and the Federal Capital Territory to recommend a zoning formula for the various electoral posts ahead of next year’s elections.
“By the Grace of God, we have unanimously approved a position that would be submitted to the NEC of our party that appointed us.”
“The good news for the teeming supporters of the PDP and Nigerians is that we have resolved and every one of us -the 37 members, unanimously adopted the position that we are going to present to NEC,” Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom told journalists after the meeting.
Despite Ortom’s reservations about the zoning mechanism, news flying around is that the committee will encourage the NEC to open the Presidential election to all contestants, regardless of zone.
According to reports, the ten states with the greatest voter turnout in the 2019 elections were mentioned. Nine of the ten were from the North, with only Lagos making the cut.
The highest voter turnout was in Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina, with Lagos a distant fourth.
It was also said that candidates should be permitted to test their popularity in the primary election, but the party will welcome a consensus approach if they chose to do so.
It was a position that all of the committee members were comfortable with.
During the 2019 general elections, the PDP’s presidential ticket was allotted to the North.
Following the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua on May 5, 2010, the party claimed that the zone’s tenure was still incomplete.
Yar’Adua had only served for two years and 11 months.
As a result, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar became victorious in the 2018 presidential primary in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
