By James Orji
Abubakar Kawu Baraje, a former Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s position on the controversial issue of rotating the presidency among the geo-political zones in the country. Baraje’s comment, many say, may have further nailed the presidential ambition of Atiku who has been facing serious pressure not to run.
The former vice president who is contesting next year ‘s presidential election has recently said zoning is not enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, in response to clamor for power shift to the south.
Atiku also spoke on the back of pressure on him to shelve his ambition for a southern candidate from his party. Some of his former allies have also called on him to forget his ambition to rule the country saying that he’s too old for the position. He will be 78 next year when the presidential election will be conducted.
On Monday, some former supporters of Atiku held protests in some part of the country to put pressure on him to forget his ambition. The protests erupted in places like Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, and Kaduna states, demanding the former vice president to jettison his presidential ambition.
In a statement, a group North 4 North said Atiku must have a re-think that he wants to be president. The statement jointly signed by the national coordinator and national secretary of the group, Mohammed Garba, and Abubakar Sanni, respectively and read during the protest in Kaduna, they said urged him to forget his ambition for national unity.
The statement reads in part, “We for our part, have promoted the candidature of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for years, but we humbly call on the former vice president to do us a good turn in return for the many good turns we have done for him.
“We have sacrificed a lot pushing for the presidency of Atiku Abubakar all these years, even though we have been abandoned by him after each election cycle, it is time for him to project national interest outside of his need to become president.
“At almost 80years, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar does not have enough in the tank to put in the high level of physical and mental effort required to fix Nigeria.
“We must give all parts of Nigeria a chance to become president of the country, or we might slide dangerously into the narratives of divisionists enemies of the state who will have a ready recruitment pool from among disgruntled groups.
“Only one region in Nigeria has not been given a chance to take the presidency of Nigeria and it is only fair that 2023 almost a quarter of a century into our current democratic system the south east is reminded that they just as Nigerian as the rest of us.
“Fairness and equity is the major ingredient for sustainability of any society as history has clearly shown and Nigeria can be no exception to this clear and present rule of nation building; when a society begins to deviate from the principle of fairness and equity, it declines and slides down the rabbit hole of oblivion.
“The presidency cannot also afford to go to an older candidate, considering the enormity of the demands of the job in the 21st century, where there are series of factors playing into a tectonic shift in economic centers of gravity, coupled with the many challenges confronting Nigeria that requires a proactive person with energy to cope with the rigors of office.
“It is the unanimous position of Nigerians, as deduced from the sampling of opinions through our consultations on the subject matter thus far, that the presidency should go to a younger candidate in tune with the realities within which we exist in today’s world and capable of making decisions at the pace required there from,” the group said.
Atiku had while responding to the question on his eligibility to contest the 2023 presidential election, Atiku said the Constitution did not bare him from joining the race. According to him, the nation’s constitution allows any qualified aspirant to contest for the highest political office in the country.
“The constitution says that all of us can contest. The Constitution has not barred anyone of us. There is no zoning in the constitution. There is none.
“I was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted this very constitution. Then, as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, we felt that there should be a sense of belonging,” Atiku said.
Speaking on the issue of zoning, Bugaje also a former National Secretary of the party said the PDP Constitution has been amended to accommodate zoning of political offices in the country.
Baraje, who will be conferred with the traditional title of Tafida of Ilorin by the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, said the former vice president may not be aware of the fact that PDP now has zoning clearly enshrined in its constitution.
He said, “Atiku was right over his comment, but he has forgotten that constitution of PDP, has been amended.
“I believe some of us will remind him that it was not in the constitution of PDP, some years ago, but it is now clearly stated in the PDP constitution that zoning should be respected and there is a caveat in the constitution.
“That caveat stated that zoning should be respected to give a sense of belonging to all members of the party and for all-inclusiveness, except and only when a resolution of the National Executive Council (NEC) decides otherwise.”
“I met it like that when I took over as National Secretary in 2008. Even when it was an oral tradition of the party, it was highly respected. It was formally included in the party’s constitution when we were reviewing it before I left in 2011.
“I think Atiku was talking about the Nigeria constitution and not that PDP, because zoning is not in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
