The zoning of the position of President in line with the doctrine of North-South rotation has been the most controversial issue for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) entering the general election in 2023. Superficially, at least, it has pitted the South against the party’s North, as presidential candidates on both sides drool at the prospect of running in an election in which incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari will not be a candidate.
The Southern PDP governors first stirred the tiff last July when they joined their compatriots from other parties in the Southern Governors Forum to demand that Buhari’s successor should be from their region. Socio-political groups in the South such as Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the South-East, Afenifere in the South-West and PANDEF in the South-South also responded to the uproar, while the Middle Belt Forum gave a sharp voice of support from the North.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has become the face of the agitation, recently criticising former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President Bukola Saraki and others from the North who bought nomination forms from the PDP. Wike contends that the ticket should be zoned to the South, principally because of its last candidate, Abubakar, from the North in 2019. Moreover, Buhari has kept the seat in the same region since 2015, albeit in the rival All Progressives Congress (APC).
A decision to cede the position to the South will automatically shut the door on the faces of some of the party’s most distinguished and enduring aspirants like Abubakar, Saraki, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, all of whom have been up and about with their current campaigns. If the race is open, aspirants from the South will have to compete with their more experienced and connected Northern rivals, which was not the case in the last election cycle in 2019, when all options were North.
Recall that the PDP had adopted the concept of zoning from inception to promote national unity. Section 7 (2) (c) of the party’s constitution states: “In pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of the party and public executive offices.” This has since seen its presidential ticket oscillate between the two regions.
In 1999, prominent Northern aspirants like Adamu Ciroma, Bamanga Tukur and Atiku did not run, leaving the new party largely in the hands of former military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Vice President of the Second Republic, Alex Ekwueme. A radical Kano politician, the late Abubakar Rimi, who opposed the decision, was eventually persuaded by his Northern colleagues to drop his nomination form.
Consequently, the likes of Wike, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State have been consistent in their call for a similar scenario to play out this time, with the South as the beneficiary zone. Sadly, the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, has not been able to take a categorical stand on the zoning imbroglio that threatens the unity of the party.
The sobriety of the zoning puzzle is underscored by the fact that while the eight PDP governors from the South joined their counterparts in the party from the same region to relentlessly demand that the presidential candidate comes from their area, the five others from the North, as well as other stakeholders from their area want the position to be open to all and sundry.
We think that the issue deserves a critical and decisive action, as the zoning principle is captured in Article 7 of the PDP Constitution, where the party states that it will adhere to the principle of elective offices among the various regions in the country. Common sense dictates that after eight years of Buhari from the North-West, his successor should come from the South. Also, since the PDP currently has its safest states in the South-South and South-East, it is only wise for it to compensate the zones with the presidential ticket.
In the 2018 primaries, the Southern politicians in the PDP left the field for their Northern counterparts for the 2019 presidential election. Everyone who has followed the PDP, either as an insider or from a distance knows that there is an understanding that power rotates between the North and the South. This was amply demonstrated when only Northern politicians in the party contested the presidential primaries because Goodluck Jonathan, the last President of the party, is from the South. So, now what has changed?
Nigeria did not begin in 1999. Between 1960 when the country gained independence and now, the North has produced leaders for more than 40 of the 61 post-independence years. The PDP needs to be circumspect and decide according to its constitution. It is crucial to guard against the ploy of the ruling party which may seek to exploit the situation, particularly because while it was embroiled in a crisis of confidence in the bid to elect a substantive national leadership, the opposition party had a seamless process that threw up a new leadership since October 2021.
No doubt, Nigeria needs men with vision and pedigree to guarantee a new lease of life in the next political dispensation. Interestingly, the Southern part of the country has a full complement of capable, competent, compassionate, courageous and solid persons who can deliver on the promises of heralding a new Nigeria. Hence, the PDP should consider zoning the ticket to the South. Leaving the position open cannot be the best option for the party.
The fact that the party’s national chairman comes from the North renders any argument for the presidential flag bearer to emerge from anywhere irrational and unpatriotic. It is an argument of convenience that is neither persuasive nor compelling. If the main opposition party jettisons the zoning convention, it will violently breach its constitution and harm the chances of victory, putting itself in harm’s way. This will equally imperil internal democracy, national unity, and bring about the desertion of its original stronghold, the Southern belt.