According to a report, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have excluded the Southeast geopolitical zone from their power-sharing agreement ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The PDP, which has yet to make an official announcement on office zoning, may not give the Southeast any of the four most powerful elective positions in Nigeria if it wins the 2023 elections.
Remember that the Southeast zone lost out on the PDP’s presidential ticket in 2023 as well as the vice presidential ticket, as the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, chose Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, from the South-South, as his running mate.
According to multiple sources, the Senate president position may have been ceded to the governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, as compensation for his role in the emergence of Atiku as the PDP 2023 presidential candidate, if he wins a senatorial seat for Sokoto South Senatorial District.
Tambuwal had withdrawn from the race for the PDP ticket, paving the way for Atiku’s victory at the party’s national convention, which was described as a “hero” by the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
House Of Reps Speakership
It has been learned that the Southeast is unlikely to win the Speakership of the House of Representatives, as the Southwest is also vying for the top position in the lower legislative chambers.
According to the Sunday Sun, ranking members from the South-South are already positioning themselves for the Speakership seat, regardless of the party’s zoning decision.
According to a top party source, the position of national chairman of the party is the most likely to come to the zone if the PDP wins the 2023 elections.
According to the source, while the Southeast has a good chance of producing the Speaker, the fact that Okowa is an Igbo from the South-South would put a damper on that possibility.
He said:
We (geo-political zones in the South) have to share whatever comes to the South. The vice president is an Igbo man; don’t forget that. So, any major thing coming to the South, the Southwest will indicate interest.
Maybe Speaker may come to Southeast. But the most likely thing for the Southeast to produce is the national chairman. The national chairman of a ruling party is actually the most powerful position in government.
PDP Zoning
Another source disclosed that Atiku and the leadership of the PDP are wary of talking about zoning positions when they are yet to win the 2023 elections.
They are saying that they will not mention positions that will go to the zones, until after the election. So that we can go to the election with minimal frictions, the source said.
He said the PDP would enforce zoning of National Assembly leadership if it wins the 2023 general elections, noting that “Atiku is not your run-of-the-mill person. If the party takes a position on zoning and you are going against it, there would be consequences. Once the party gets the majority, the caucus will decide on how things will go. That is all.”