A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, has revealed why his party is yet to zone its presidential ticket to the Southeast.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the PDP stalwart said his is in a dilemma over the zoning of presidency to any region.
According to the former minister, he personally want the main opposition party to field a southerner from the eastern part of the country as its candidate.
Chidoka, however, stated that the PDP leadership is faced with either fielding a candidate that they feel can win the 2023 election or succumbing to zoning to the South, which may result in losing the election.
He said: “PDP is in a kind of dilemma. Do we struggle to win power first or continue our zoning as we have done or do we continue with the zoning even if that candidate may or may not win the election?
First of all, the Igbo people will have to bring out a candidate that can convince Nigerians because Nigerians are not a party to this internal party zoning structures.”
Speaking further, he said should the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP field a south-easterner as their candidates, Nigerians would be left to vote the best candidate.
However, Chidoka disclosed that Nigerians have gotten to the stage whereby they will overlook their ethnic identities and consider the national interest first while voting for credible leaders.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is reportedly set to avoid a potential banana skin situation by following the ‘mood of the country’ in deciding its candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
Amidst calls for the 2023 presidency to be zoned to the south and the attendant rejection by northern politicians interested in the position, the party is said to be on the lookout for how the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will choose its own candidate before committing to the next step.
A source who spoke on the matter said the move is to avoid any crisis and also at the same time present an acceptable candidate to Nigerians.
The source claims the PDP intends to wait until the APC candidate emerges, gauge the reaction of Nigerians before eventually deciding on either to zone its own ticket or throw it open.
The PDP also intends to use the strategy to neutralize whichever option the APC adopts even as both parties continue to evaluate aspirants against the controversial issue of zoning the 2023 presidency.
