From Fred Itua, Abuja
A former Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, has called on the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to zone its presidential ticket to the South East in the interest of fairness and equity.
Essien, who is the leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) elders in Akwa Ibom, said it is wrong for politicians from the South West to nurse any ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that is is unjust.
The former House of Representatives member, in a chat with Daily Sun, said the PDP, in the spirit of fairness and equity, zone its presidential ticket to the North, in fulfillment of the arrangement reached when the party was formed.
Explaining why the South East should be solely considered by the APC in 2023, said: “For the APC, there is no argument. It should be zoned to the South. Not just the South, but the South East. That’s what APC should do. I don’t see the reason why people South West are contesting.
“For eight years, South West through Obasanjo was in power. By next year, the South West would have spent another eight years in office as Vice President. It shouldn’t contest for the office of the President. It is unfair. It should naturally be zoned to the South East. There should be no argument about that.”
On zoning of PDP presidential ticket to the North, Essien noted: “In the PDP, it is the turn of the North to produce the next President. Therefore, the PDP needs to zone its presidency to the North. The reason is very understandable. In the 16 years that the PDP was in power, the South had it for almost 13 years.
“Olusegun Obasanjo from the South was in power under the PDP eight years. Umaru Musa Yar’adua came in from the North. He didn’t even spend three years and died. Then Jonathan completed his tenure and went ahead to complete another four years.
“The PDP ought to have zoned the ticket to the North in 2015, but Goodluck Johnathan insisted on contesting and the PDP lost. The PDP tried to zone it to the North in 2019, but it didn’t win. It is only fair for the party to zone its ticket to the North.”