Victor Ezeja
Key presidential aspirants under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the North on Wednesday visited Rivers State to seek support for consensus candidacy for the presidential ticket instead of zoning being canvassed by the Southern members of the party.
Former senate president, Bukola Saraki, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and a former managing director of FSB International Bank, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen made the visit to the Rivers governor, Nyesom Wike.
As party primaries draw closer, the presidential aspirants of Northern extraction have in the last one week, been visiting stakeholders particularly PDP governors in the South to enlist their support for the party to have a candidate for the 2023 general elections based on consensus.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Saraki said the visit to Rivers State was to discuss unity of the party and future of the country as 2023 election approaches.
He wrote: “As we work to strengthen our great party, PDP, earlier today, alongside my brothers Governors Tambuwal, Bala and Alhaji Hayatudeen, we visited Governor Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt to discuss the unity of our party and the future of our great nation!”
READ ALSO: 2023: PDP Makes U-Turn, Rejects Zoning Of Presidential Ticket
The presidential hopefuls on Monday visited Delta and Edo States on similar mission.
On Tuesday, the Governor Samuel Ortom-led zoning Committee submitted report which recommended that the party should throw open the presidential ticket to candidates from all regions in the country instead of zoning, due to exigency of time.
The committee, however, maintained that zoning remains sacrosanct as enshrined in the party’s constitution, and commended efforts of some of the contestants in canvassing for consensus candidacy, urging all members to support the move.
The party members from Southeast had made a strong case, for the presidential ticket to be zoned to the region in the interest of fairness, equity, and justice, as the region has neither produced a president nor vice president of the country since the return of democracy in 1999.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
