Indications are beginning to emerge that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to take a definite stance on which region of the country will produce its candidate for the forthcoming presidential election a few days before the primary election scheduled for May 30.
It was gathered that uncertainty is beginning to creep into the ruling party, as some chieftains of the party are mulling the possibility of zoning the presidential ticket to the North, in a bid to counter the country’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose body language suggests it may pick its candidate from the north.
An internal source who spoke with the members of the press disclosed that the APC is waiting for the outcome of PDP’s presidential primary scheduled for May 28 and May 29 before it would take a final position.
The source added that despite the fact that the majority of the APC presidential aspirants are southerners, the party may decide to zone the ticket to any part of the country.
“The presidential ticket can go anywhere. In fact, we will get a strong northern candidate that can defeat the PDP if it zones its presidency to the North,” the source was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Director-General (DG) of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, while addressing members of the press on Monday attributed the uncertainty of the APC on zoning to the prevarication of the PDP on the zoning of its presidential ticket.
Okechukwu said the APC had been watching with keen interest “the desperation of the PDP to prey on President Muhammadu Buhari’s 12 million vote bank.”
According to him, the ruling party is aware of the strong will of the PDP to sweep away the 12 million votes bank of Buhari by fielding a northerner as its candidate in 2023.
In his words, “Although one is not holding the brief of our distinguished national Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, one’s little understanding is that the leadership of our great party is watching closely the desperation and antics of our elder sister political party, the PDP.
“They want to capture power, by all means, using Machiavellian tactics. We all know that PDP is famished, thirsty, and desperate to win the Presidency in 2023. They loathe the loss of their slogan, ‘Share the Money’, through their absence from power at the centre for seven going to eight years.”
