The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said it has finally reached an agreement on the zoning formula to be adopted by the party for all positions ahead of its National Convention and the 2023 general elections.
The APC had on Monday, for the umpteenth time, shifted the date for its National Convention earlier slated for February 26 to March 26, 2022. The sudden u-turn by the party has continued to stir debates among Nigerians in the last 24 hours amid concerns over where the power pendulum, as well as the APC chairmanship position will swing in 2023.
Following the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tuesday, the ruling party reiterated its stance to zone presidency to the South and its National chairmanship position to the north. This idea had been muted, reported and even refuted by the APC hierarchy in the past. However, as the 2023 presidential race hots up, there have been many loose conversations and uncertainties on the presidential zoning between the North and the South recently.
Speaking on behalf of the APC Governors, the Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai who denied reports of division among his colleagues over the party’s National Convention with shifting dates and goalposts, said the party has agreed to alternate offices between the north and south in the forthcoming political era.
According to the Kaduna Governor, under the newly agreed power sharing arrangements, all offices that were occupied by northerners in the last eight years will go to the south and vice versa.
“We have agreed a zoning formula for all the six geo-political zones. Essentially, northern zone will have the positions the South had in the last eight years and vice versa.
“It is a very simple, equitable and fair formula. We will now go back and consult at the zonal level and look at the positions that are available and the process of the convention preparation we started in earnest.
“So, by the grace of God, on the 26th of March, we would have done our national convention,” he said.
At the meeting were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari. Eighteen of the Governors are in attendance at the meeting taking place at the Council Chambers. They are from Yobe, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Cross River, Kaduna, Lagos, Borno, Niger, Gombe, Osun, Kebbi, Anambra dep, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kano, Imo, Kogi, Ogun, and Plateau states.
