By Ben Ogbemudia and Israel Joel
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Anyim, yesterday warned that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could lose the forthcoming 2023 presidential election if power is not zoned to the southern part of the country.
The former SGF stated this during a campaign visit to PDP delegates at the state party secretariat in Jos, Plateau State.
He said, “If PDP makes the mistake of not respecting the zoning arrangement as enshrined in the party’s constitution, it will lose the 2023 presidency.”
Anyim, a one-time Senate President and an aspirant in the 2023 presidential election, said those clamouring for power to remain in the North are only doing so for their gains.
“I am calling on party delegates not to allow anyone to deceive them with money,” he said.
According to him, “Former presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari are all products of zoning arrangement, which is considered as a gentleman agreement to keep the nation together.
“For equity, justice, and fairness, it is only natural that the presidency rotates to the South after President Buhari, who will be completing eight years for the north on May 29, 2023.”
He maintained that 2023 will be a defining moment for the country, where again Nigeria will be at the crossroads of choosing between fairness, equity, justice, or deciding to play down the principles that will keep democracy alive.
“Power rotation is in the constitution of the PDP, which goes hand in hand with the principles of the Federal Character as enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution,” Anyim stated.
While canvassing for the Plateau State delegates’ vote, Anyim promised to turn Jos into an international city “where development will checkmate the incessant crises that have engulfed the state.”
He added, “I will set up a committee that will restore the Jos master plan in which the city will not allow anyone who does not have business in the metropolis to remain in the city centre”.
Anyim also promised to return power to the North-Central if elected president.
He called on the people of the state to support the PDP at all times.
•Anyone above 70 should abstain from contesting the presidency, says Ortom
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday cautioned that anyone above 70 years should not contest the 2023 presidential election.
He said younger persons with leadership attributes and quality with modern trends to move the nation forward should take over the leadership of the nation.
Ortom stated this when he played host to the trio of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, who were in the state to consult with him on the consensus arrangement they initiated to trim down the number of presidential aspirants on the platform of the PDP.
While commending them for their initiative, Ortom said, “Nigerians can testify that during their time at the federal level they did very well and delivered on their mandate. And today they are eminently qualified to lead this country.
“But anybody above 70 years should abstain from running for the presidency of Nigeria. They should allow the younger ones who are capable and knowledgeable in modern trends to take over leadership of the country.”
•Eight PDP aspirants pick nomination forms
Meanwhile, no fewer than eight presidential aspirants under the platform of the PDP have picked their nomination form to contest for the party’s ticket.
The eighth entrant, Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze, picked his presidential nomination form at the party’s national Secretariat yesterday.
He joined the likes of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and others to seek the PDP presidential ticket for 2023.
Speaking with journalists shortly after obtaining the form, Nwachukwu said what they want is true democracy and freedom for all Nigerians and Africans.
“We want to stand for democracy and fair play for all. We promote good religion. We will promote good politics, not religious politics but politics that will lift Nigeria, African people, black women, to be one of the top countries in the whole world.
“We want every ethnic group to feel they have a stake in the future of the country. We want leadership based on the ability to work hard and fairness, accountability, they should know that they’re working for public trust.
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“Our vision is for one united Nigeria, irrespective of where you are from, my presidency will involve everybody from every tribe, every religion, there’ll be no discrimination.
“Our problem is leadership, poor leadership. We have everything, our young people are very intelligent and God has given us all the resources, everything. We don’t have tornados or hurricanes; we don’t have the fire. God gave us everything, favoured us but it is our people that are not taking care of the people,” he added.
On zoning of the party presidential ticket, Nwachukwu said for fairness and equity, the South-East should have it.
“Talking about zoning, when MKO Abiola died, he was prevented from being president and there was a cry in the land. Because of that, all Nigerians said it should be zoned to the Southwest and it was given to Obasanjo, even though Alex Ekwueme formed the party but the argument was that because a Yoruba man died, it should be zoned to him. All Igbo people like me supported (Olusegun) Obasanjo and we supported the zoning.
“So, South-South had it, the South-West had it and then they started crying again in the North, it is time for North then Buhari was zoned to the north again. Buhari benefitting, Obasanjo benefiting and Jonathan benefiting but the people from the South-East have not been zoned.
“We have worked very hard to keep Nigeria united, we have built infrastructures, we have everything, we are the ones that live in every part of the country and speak the language of every tribe and develop the place, and nobody else in Nigeria does that. We are the most one-Nigerian that you have, If you give us a chance, we can make Nigeria a superpower of the world,” he said.
