A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Ali Ndume, has expressed serious concerns over plots by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to throw open the presidential ticket of the party ahead of the primaries of the party.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the presidential convention is expected to hold on the 30th of this month.
Speaking last Friday at the Presidential Villa, the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu dropped the hint that no geo-political zone would be precluded from the race.
Adamu who incidentally is from the North Central declared that no decision has been taken on the zoning of the APC presidential slot. He said: ‘I am today privileged to be the chairman of the party. The party is greater than me. The party has not made a decision and I cannot preempt what the party decision will be.’
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Ndume who is the Director-General of the Amaechi Campaign Organization said it would amount to betrayal for the North to join the APC presidential race or produce a candidate for the party.
He disclosed that there was an understanding that the North should produce a candidate in 2015 which informed the predominance of presidential aspirants for the APC ticket from the three geo-political zones in the North.
He said: ‘That will be unfair, injustice and almost a betrayal of trust and a gentleman man agreement.
‘We had an agreement, though not written in 2015 that the North should produce the President. That was why all the presidential aspirants were from the North: Atiku, Nda Isaiah, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Muhammadu Buhari, all contested. Only Rochas Okorocha just participated because he already had the governorship ticket in his pocket. He just participated for the sake of it because Buhari even won Imo State delegates. That was why no aspirants contested from South-west, South-south and Southeast.
‘I believe in justice; I am not against anybody from the North contesting, it is their constitutional right. If APC fields a Northern candidate, that will be tantamount to the third term. I think it is better to lose with honour than to win without honour. Southerners are Nigerians who should be given equal rights. What is due to Caesar should be given to Caesar’ he submitted.
The decision on zoning has left both major parties perplexed ahead of the 2023 elections.
