10 days to presidential primary: Southern PDP leaders weigh fresh option

TEN days to the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there are signs that some leaders of the party from the states in the southern part of the country have initiated fresh moves to forge a united front. 

The initiative is said to be part of some pragmatic moves to ensure that an aspirant from one of the three zones in the South gets a PDP ticket. 

The other option said to be on the card of the leaders is that in the event of the ticket not coming to the South, whoever would be PDP candidate should be a northerne5r with ‘strong roots in the South.’ 

The talks are being held by key PDP politicians from the South-South South-East and the South-West, who felt it was imperative to have a Plan B, because the party leadership resolved to throw the race open instead of explicitly zoning the ticket to the South. 

It was gathered that the PDP leaders from the South are determined to rally delegates from areas to vote only for either a particular southern aspirant or, in the alternative, adopt a northern candidate who is not from the far North. 

“The strategy of the southern PDP leaders behind the efforts is to ensure that the outcome of the PDP presidential primary produces a win-win situation for the South, irrespective of where the candidates come from,” a source said. 

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A prominent politician from the South who is involved in the ongoing plan said the region is resolved to influence the choice of whoever will emerge as the standard-bearer of the main opposition party at the primary. 

“We will work to ensure the South decides who the presidential candidate is, even if he is not from our zone. Southern delegates may come together and choose a northern candidate who has strong roots in the South. 

“He must be somebody who has a close affinity and filial relationship with us. He must be somebody who understands the challenges facing the South and can run a government that is based on equity, justice and inclusiveness, and knows what it is to suffer injustice or the pains of the minority. 

“It is the reason why we will not support aspirants from the far-North. We will rather support aspirants whose zone has not produced any of the two positions in the Presidency of Nigeria. An ideal candidate for the PDP is somebody from either the South or the northern minority,” the source stated. 

The leaders are of the view that the South occupies a strategic place within the PDP, hence the party could not afford to discountenance the wishes of the three zones in the South. 

“It is the only way we can show that without having a southern candidate, we can have a president who believes he owes the South and that the support of the southern delegates is instrumental to his victory. That means if the South plays its card well, it can produce a southern candidate from the North,” the source added.