Pick Your Presidential Candidate from North, Owie Urges PDP

By Adibe Emenyonu

Abead of the 2023 presidential election, former Senate Chief Whip, Sir Roland Owie, Monday said for equity and fairness, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should pick its presidential candidate from the north.

Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Senator Owie said since 1999, the south has through Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Jonathan, have governed the country for 14 years while the north through late Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua has less than three years.

He said: “Under the PDP constitution zoning is not in it but it was brought in. It was on the bases of injustice meted out to the west because of the case of late Chief MKO Abiola that led to the ceding of the presidency to the west which produced President Olusegun Obasanjo as president.

“The two major parties decided to bring their candidates from the South-West our party the PDP presented Olusegun Obasanjo while the APP/AD produced Olu Falae and we went into the election to build unity, to build a consensus that it should rotate.

“Obasanjo lost his unit, lost his ward, lost his local government, lost his state, lost his zone but still won the election because there was a consensus. Obasanjo did his eight years even though within the time we tried to impeach and the presidency moved to the north, the two major parties picked their candidates from the north and late President Yar’Adua won but Yar’Adua spent two years plus and God called him and his Vice became acting president and then contested a second one and became president so if you calculate; from 1999 to now under the PDP, the Southern part of Nigeria have take 14 years 240 days as president of this country while the north took two years plus for the PDP.”

He also accused that “On APC, I can’t talk for them but the north has taken eight years so they are very free to rotate their presidency to the south but the PDP will be unjust if it takes its candidate from the south. The presidency of the PDP, the only party that believes in the unity of this country, the presidency should go to the north. Let no individual interest or ambition stop PDP from doing what is right.”