From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in a dilemma over the zoning of the national chairmanship ahead of its October 30 convention.
Daily Sun gathered that the PDP Zoning Committee as well as governors were divided on whether or not the chairmanship seat be zoned to the North or South.
It was gathered that while party leaders in the North are pushing for the party to retain the chairmanship in the South to pave the way for a northerner to clinch the PDP 2023 presidential ticket, their counterparts in the South, who have their eyes on the presidential ticket, wants the chairmanship zoned to the North.
The PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), at its meeting in Abuja, earlier in the month, had set up a committee headed by Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to zone the position of the national chairman and other positions in the party’s National Working Committee(NWC).
However, the zoning committee, at its meeting in Enugu, last Thursday, failed to agree on how the chairmanship position and other offices should be zoned.
A highly placed party source told Daily Sun that “Northern governors wants it to go the South. The southern governors wants it to go the South. There is a split in the zoning committee.”
The source stated that those pushing for zoning of the chairmanship to the North are “discountenacing the fact that the party constitution provides for second tenure for anyone holding a position. If you now zone it outside their zones, for those holding offices now, you have violated the constitution of the party. That is the argument of some stakeholders.
“For instance, the South South is holding the chairman. If Secondus wants to contest and you zone the position out of the South, you have deprived him. The PDP is at a crossroad.”
Regardless, Daily Sun gathered that another group of party leaders are canvassing that the chairmanship contest should be thrown open to all qualified aspirants.
Another party source told Daily Sun that those canvassing for the chairmanship contest to be thrown open are arguing that it would help the PDP keep the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the dark as to where the opposition party’s 2023 presidential party candidate would come from.
According to the source “that (throwing chairmanship contest open) is the most likely thing to avoid problem. When you through it open, you have removed speculation as where the Presidency will come from.
“If you say the South, they will say okay, the president will come from North. If you make it open, then in the presidential ticket, you also throw it open. But the party knows where it is going.”
The Zoning Committee, barring any last minute change, is expected to meet on Thursday, to reach a compromise.
The PDP Governors Forum are expected to meet in Abuja on Wednesday over the zoning imbroglio.
The outcome of the Governors Forum meeting, it was gathered, would to aid the zoning committee on reaching a consensus on the zoning of offices.