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.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders in Akwa Ibom, said it was wrong for politicians from the South West to nurse any ambition of succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari as it was unjust.
The former House of Representatives member told Daily Sunthat the PDP, in the spirit of fairness and equity, zoned its presidential ticket to the North, in fulfilment of the arrangement reached when the party was formed.
Justifying why the South East should be solely considered by the APC in 2023, he said: “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 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.”