2023: APC Southern Caucus To Decide Where The Presidential Ticket Will Go – El-Rufai

By Adesina Soyooye

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has, under pressure and protest from the South, and many others from the North, officially zoned the office of the President, in 2023, to the Southern part of Nigeria.

This, automatically, disqualifies anybody from the North from contesting for the office of the President.

This was revealed by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, when he spoke, Wednesday, on a Channels Television programme.

The Governor said it is now left for the APC Southern Caucus to decide which region in the South the ticket would go to.

El- Rufai: “Our expectation is that our Presidential candidate will come from somewhere in the south.

“It is up to the Southern caucus of the APC to now propose to us an acceptable candidate.”

The South is made up of three Zones – South-west, South-east and South-south.

Out of the three, only the South-east has not produced  a President since 1999 when the Military handed over power back to the civilians.

The South-west had eight years with President Olusegun Obasanjo. The South-south had six years with President Goodluck Jonathan.

Against 2023, the South-west, under the APC,  is, again, making a strong bid for it, flaunting both Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has already started serious campaign, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who is yet to declare his interest. It is also believed that other aspirants are likely to show interest from the South-west.

From the South-east, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, and Senator Rochas Okorocha have declared their interest.

From the South-south, nobody has declared yet, even though it is being seriously rumoured that the Minister for Transport, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, could be a favoured aspirant.

The South-east is arguing that for equity and justice, the office should be zoned to the South-east.

The expectation is that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, will also zone the office to the South. If it does, it will not be setting any precedent.

In 1999, the three major political parties zoned the President’s office to the South-west to compensate the Zone for the cancellation of the presumed victory, in 1993, of Chief MKO Abiola.

Abiola later died in the custody of the Military after the regime of late General Sani Abacha clamped him in detention for daring to insist on his electoral victory.