By Saidu Idris
365Daily – Baring any last minute change of plans, the Wadata House, Abuja National Headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be picketed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 15, by hundreds of protesters agitating for the party to zone 2023 presidential position to the southern part of the nation.
This development would further cast light on the internal friction and bickering in the opposition party over the 2023 general elections.
The protest, 365Daily gathered, is allegedly being sponsored by a prominent Governor from the South, who has been very vocal about zoning and internal democracy of the party.
Piqued by the seeming reluctance by the party leadership to zone its key 2023 elective positions, the protest is said to be a channel for the southern interests to reinforce their demands for the zone to produce the presidential candidate.
Logistics for the proposed protest is said to have been allegedly generously provided by the governor.
Beyond this development, it has been observed by many that there has been palpable tension and rancour in the PDP over the zone most suitable to take a shot at the presidency come 2023, leading to different narratives and arguments along the delicate South/North dichotomy.
While the South, especially the South East, are making demands for the zone to be considered, based on the premise of equity and justice, as it hasn’t had the opportunity to produce a Nigerian president since the return of democracy in 1999, the North are making a similar claim based on same equity.
According to some northern interests in the PDP, in the 16 years that the party had held office at the presidency, the South had occupied the office for about 14 years (during both former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, respectively), while the North only held sway in an accumulated period of less than two years, under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office.
So, they argue that for fair play and inclusion, the North should be allowed to produce the next PDP candidate.
But as it stands at the moment, it appears that the PDP is shying away from being decisive in zoning it’s presidential office, even after it had produced a current national chairman from the North, leading to this internal bickering in the party.