By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election,
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
2019 Elections Review Committee has recommended that the presidential ticket of the party should be thrown open to all the zones in the country.
The committee specifically suggested that every Nigerian, from every part of the country, should be given the opportunity to choose the best candidate.
The Chairman of the committee and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed disclosed this yesterday while submitting the report of the committee to the national leadership of the PDP in Abuja.
The Bauchi State governor, who acknowledged that many people are of the opinion that, for fairness and equity, the North East and South East geo-political zones, that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, in choosing the presidential flagbearer of the party, for the 2023 elections, however pointed out that the exigencies of the moment demand that nothing should be compromised in choosing the leader, with the attributes to disentangle the country from the present quagmire.
The choice of the party’s presidential candidate, the committee further suggested, should be done through a credible primary election; as a way of institutionalising a merit-based leadership recruitment process.for the country.
In the words of the Chairman of the committee, “In line with certain unwritten conventions of the nation’s history, many people think that, for fairness and equity, the North East and South East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, in choosing the presidential flagbearer of the party, for the 2023 elections.
“While we admit that this is a strong argument, we should not lose sight of the fact that Nigeria is endowed with many capable and very experienced leaders in every part of the country.
“Moreover, the exigencies of the moment demand that nothing should be compromised in choosing the leader, with the attributes to disentangle the country from the present quagmire.
“Therefore, we think that every Nigerian, from every part of the country, should be given the opportunity to choose the best candidate, through a credible primary election; as a way of institutionalising a merit-based leadership recruitment process, for the country”, he said.
The Senator Mohammed-led similarly enjoined the PDP to advocate for genuine restructuring that fosters decentralisation, engenders national unity, guarantees security of lives and properties of all Nigerians no matter where they reside in the country.
Such restructuring, he said, should also promote economic prosperity and the overall well-being of all our people.
According to him, “The endemic frictions in inter-governmental relations, especially between the states and the Federal Government, suggest that the present constitutional arrangement is grossly inadequate to contend with changing democratic and demographic challenges.
“Our party must therefore push for either a review and endorsement of the 2014 Constitutional Conference Report or for a new constitutional conference to be organised.
“In short, the party should advocate for genuine restructuring that fosters decentralisation, engenders national unity, guarantees security of lives and properties of all Nigerians no matter where they reside in the country and which promotes economic prosperity and the overall well-being of all our people.
“The party should actively encourage the current reform by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make it truly independent and to be able to conduct elections devoid of the coercive apparatus of the state, underhand manipulations and outright intimidation of voters”, he said.
Speaking after receiving the report, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus expressed the confidence that it (the report of the committee) will form the bedrock of the party’s plan ahead of 2023 general elections.
Secondus assured that the National Working Committee (NWC) will study and analyze the report meticulously and come up with a position that will be beneficial to the party.
