By Uche Mbah
Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Senator, representing Enugu East Senatorial Zone, has insisted on his support for the All Progressives Congress Presidential flag bearer, Bola Tinubu.
Dr Nnamani was suspended on January 20, 2023, from the PDP, because of his months of open support for the APC Presidential Candidate over his own Party’s Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The Leadership of the PDP was forced to suspend him for what it rightly termed “anti-party activities”
But Nnamani is not remorseful. Instead, he is standing by, and sticking to, Tinubu. In a statement he released on Sunday, January 29, 2023, the suspended Senator is blaming his Party for his waywardness. He says the Party breached its own constitution when it discarded the zoning arrangement of offices between the North and the South. He insisted that the PDP’s constitution provided that key political offices be rotated between the North and the South to ensure equity.
He said : “Conscious of the need to share and rotate key political offices among the diverse people of our country, the PDP constitution clearly stated that it shall adhere, at all times, to the policy of the rotation and zoning of the party and public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity , justice and fairness.
“Even when the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, made a firm commitment to step down should a Northerner emerge as Presidential Candidate for 2023 election, the Leadership jettisoned the constitutional provision and turned the logic upside down .
“Recall that the PDP in 2019 allowed the North to contest the primaries for the presidency in Port Harcourt , Rivers in which Atiku Abubakar clinched the ticket and contested the election.
“It was expected that in 2023, the PDP in a corresponding manner allows the South to contest for the plum position, but the party in its decision opened the contest for both the Northern and Southern aspirants.
“In a twist of events and political maneuvering Atiku Abubakar got the ticket again.
“The outcome of the Presidential Campaign infuriated southern PDP faithful including the G5 Governors who insist on respecting the North/ South rotation principle.”
According to him, the action of the PDP is injustice and lacked equity, saying that leaving power in the North after President Buhari is morally wrong. Even Buhari himself threw up conditions that threw up Tinubu, a Southerner, he said.
“Having critically examined the situation , I found Bola Tinubu as the preferred candidate from the south to foot the bill in 2023,” Nnamani submitted.
Although Nnamani has, allegedly, had several meetings with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, he has never, in reality, been part of the G5.
The G5 is made up of five PDP Governors who are opposed to the candidacy of Atiku and Chairmanship of Ayu.
The G5 as a body has not made a choice of the Presidential Candidate of choice but some members may have made individual choices outside their party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar.
This is the first time Nnamani is attributing his support for Tinubu to the alleged breach of its constitution by his party. He has, always, said his support for Tinubu is because of the APC Candidate’s competence.
For the records, Nnamani has, since 2003, been desirous of being the President of Nigeria.
