2023: ‘Why APC May Not Zone Presidency to South’

Adedayo Akinwale

The Director General (DG) of Voice of Nigeria (VON) and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has given reasons while the ruling party may not zone its presidency to the south.

He explained that the APC was shifting away from implementing the party’s earlier zoning format of swapping offices between north and south, as declared by Governor Nasir el-Rufai before the March 26 National Convention was because the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) decided to jettison its zoning arrangement.

Okechukwu stated this  in a statement issued yesterday  while reacting to regional socio-cultural groups – the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Afenifere Renewal Group and Ohanaeze that recently accused APC of playing hanky-panky with the zoning of the Presidency to the South.

The party chieftain noted that Nigerians should hold the PDP responsible if the 2023 presidency is not zoned to the South.

His words: “Although one is not holding the brief of our distinguished national Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, one’s little understanding is that the leadership of our great party, is watching closely the desperation and antics of our elder sister political party, the PDP.

 “As a corollary, APC seems to have adopted the cat and mouse game, because if the PDP adopts the terra firma or doctrine of realpolitik, which places electoral victory above their constitution, the moral high ground and ethics of their members and supporters in the South; APC wants to do the pragmatic thing.”

 “That is going back to the drawing board.”

“They want to capture power by all means, indeed using Machiavellian tactics. We all know that PDP is famished, thirsty and desperate to win the Presidency in 2023. They loathe the loss of their slogan ‘Share the Money’ through their absence from power at the center for seven going to eight years.”

 Okechukwu insisted that it was unconscionable and despicable that the opposition party should breach the zoning convention which helped in no small measure to unite and harmonise the country.

He added:  “PDP is aware that President Buhari will not be on the ballot in 2023, therefore, for them there is a void to fill. They must have reasoned that the Buhari’s Vote Bank would be up for grabs if they go north.

“Methinks PDP’s calculation is a desperate one, and selfish to the extent that they breached their own constitution and their age-long die-hard supporters in the South, especially the Southeast.”

 “To be frank, my take on the matter is that the swap option is still open, because some of us from the South are still arguing that we have dormant votes, especially Igbo votes which will augment APC members’ votes from the north.

 “However, if at the end of the day the zoning fails, we should blame PDP’s desperation, because we have been advocating a repeat of the Chiefs Obasanjo/Falae; Yaradua/Buhari and Buhari/Atiku models of 1999, 2007 and 2019 models,” Okechukwu quipped.