2019: Why PDP Conceded Vice Presidential Ticket To South East

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is bent on having firm grip of the South East as a basis to compliment the support it intends to garner from the North when it fields a northerner as its presidential candidate in 2019.

A top party official who spoke to INNONEWS.COM in Abuja on condition of anonymity  on the issue said the party took into consideration the fact that the South East is totally disenchanted with the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC over the region's marginalization in sharing of key elective and appointive positions in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

The party leaders also took note that the South East has not fared well in the APC led Federal Government because among the top six positions in the APC government such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, no one from the region was appointed or elected into any of such positions.

  

The source said “Though Ike Ekweremadu is the Deputy Senate President he is a member of the PDP, which implies that the PDP has consideration and regards for Igbos in the party.

“You will also remember that the clamour by the South East to produce the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) did not succeed despite the fact everyone expected that a prominent Igbo son who is a leader in the APC, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, should have been appointed the SGF based on his proven track records and high level of integrity.

 “Rather, the APC and  President Buhari preferred a Northerner, Babachir David Lawal, an appointment which attracted outrage not only  from  Igbos in the South East but across the country”the source stated.

According to him, the PDP took advantage of the recent agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for a Biafra Republic and the continued detention of leader of the separatist group, Nnamdi Kanu by the APC led Federal Government as a factor that worsened or strained the political relationship between the APC and the South East to conceed to the South East.

" We noticed the blunder the APC made over the Biafra issue and we decided to take advantage of it. Biafra may not be supported by all Igbos. Like Prof Wole Soyinka said you can silence the people but you cannot kill an idea.  This is politics. You use whatever you have in your arsenal to outsmart your opponent" the source said 

The source continued “You will also remember that it was during the PDP administration in the last 16 years that the South East produced the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, PDP National Chairman, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Chief of Army Staff,   Ministers of key federal Ministries such as Finance, Education and other key positions.

“What has the South East gotten in the APC led Federal Government? Hon Chike Okafor from Imo State was to be a principal officer of the House of Representatives, he was schemed out of the process. 

"In the APC, there is no one in the South East that holds a key position. But the PDP has shown concern for the South East and the reion has always been with the  PDP. Thus the party leaders resolved to reciprocate such monumental support by zoning the number two position in the country to the zone" he said     

  

 It was further observed  that the resolve of the PDP  to offer the Vice Presidential ticket of the party to the South East is to strengthen  the  grip of the party in the region ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

The PDP controls three States in the South East namely Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States. Anambra State is in the kitty of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), though most of the party leaders have strong alignments with the PDP.

Imo State is the only state controlled by the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC but with strong presence of the PDP in the State. 70% of the top politicians are in the opposition party.

According to a proposal which outline zoning of elective positions which will be ratified at the National Convention of the party scheduled to take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on May 21, 2016, the South East will also get the positions of National Youth Leader, National Treasurer and National Legal Adviser.

By the zoning arrangement, while the North will retain the seat of the Senate President, the South South will produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the national chairman of the party.

And, apart from the North producing the President and Senate President, the region will also produce the deputy Speaker, deputy National Chairman and the party’s national secretary.

The proposed zoning arrangement

1 President
North

2 Vice President
South East

3 Senate President
North

4 Speaker South South

5 Deputy Senate President
South West

6 Deputy Speaker
North

7 Chairman of PDP
South South

8 Dept National Chair of PDP
North