APC Leaders At War Over 2023 Presidency, Zoning

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Deli999
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November 29th, 2020, 2:54 pm

As arguments over rotation of presidency continue to rage, Minster of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola raised the ante earlier in the week following his disclosure that there was indeed an unwritten agreement among leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 to rotate presidency between North and South.

As a result of the national interest such generated, Saturday Sun reached out to other leaders and stakeholders in the party to confirm the minister’s claim, their reactions confirmed sharp divisions on the twin issues of zoning and 2023 presidency.

Reacting to the claim and why the party is not pushing it, the APC Northeast Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu, asked Fashola to explain the quarters where it was done and the parties to the unwritten agreement.

He said: “For example, if he said, so so persons were parties then we can ask if there was such or not. If for example there wasn’t agreement like that, somebody may insinuate based on his own personal interest that, yes, there was something like that. First, he has to provide people that were privy to that agreement. Even if he didn’t mention names, he will say the stage where it was done, whether at the point of merger, then you know from research those that participated in the merger.

“I can’t tell you yes or no because I was not privy to that agreement. If people who were privy to it will say, yes, there was and they will be the ones championing it and prevailing on the party to implement it.

“If I was there when such agreement was made, I would be among the people pointing it out and hammering on the party to remember the agreement made. Until somebody is privy to it, that is when the person will be able to comment on this matter and that is when the person will be able to pressurize the party to see that it implements what was agreed upon even though it was a gentleman’s agreement. Most of these types of agreements are unwritten and people as gentlemen try to uphold it.”

According to Salihu, there were stages during the formation of the party; there were consultations for alliances and after that there were consultations for merger, before the merger. After the merger, there was candidature, that is the primaries and after that there was general election, adding that, “ so, you know at what point it was done and the key players at that time.”

“Everything was on the papers and you know at certain times the representatives of the blocs that formed the party. If it was available, everybody will know who were at Campaign Council at that time. If it was before primaries, everybody knows who were members of the primary election committee and on each camp. Everybody knows who were in Buhari’s camp, likewise who were in Atiku’s camp. If the agreement was before the primaries, these were the key players and if it was after primaries, these are the key players,” Salihu stated.

Also, former Minister of Information and founding member of the party, Prince Tony Momoh, said, asking him such question was not fair, as it tantamount to revealing everything that happened in the party, asking the reporter if he announces in the market place all that happened during their editorial meetings.

“Have you asked Bisi Akande? Do you want me to say in the public all that happened in the party from the time of consultations, agreements reached, conventions, primaries, etc. Do you in The Sun go to the market place to announce all that happened during your editorial meetings? It is not fair.

“There were lots of agreements reached as a party. If you are talking of an agreement to rotate or not to rotate; if you want to know agreements that were written, go and look at the manifesto and the constitution, they are documented. If you want to know what happened behind the scene, you can investigate. The structure of Nigeria is presidential system, and not parliamentary. In a presidential system, there are certain things you cannot do. You cannot pick the governor and his deputy from the same local government; you cannot pick the president and the vice president from the same local government, the same state, and the same zone.


“It is zoned North and South and that is why you see now that what has emerged is that both Christians and Muslims have a voice. Once upon a time, Muslim- Muslim ticket could fly, but now you will find it difficult to find Muslin-Muslim ticket because of divergencies, differences of vested interests. In a parliamentary system, there is no need for zoning, but in a presidential system, you will zone and if you don’t zone, it is to your own detriment.

“Gone are the days for instance in a presidential system, you have an Awolowo and an Umeadi, both from the South. The risk they were taking was that they couldn’t have votes from the North. Now, it is impossible for someone to have running mate from the same zone because we have North and South. It is big risk for someone to fly Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket because religion has come into play.

“Whatever agreement reached at that time can be enforced in house now and the enforcement can succeed or fail. For you to be asking me such a thing is like asking you what you discussed at your editorial conference. It’s an unfair question.

“I know zoning was discussed. I was even the chairman of the committee at the caucus meeting to discuss coming together of which groups. So, that being the case, I won’t be telling you that this is what we discussed and this is the agreement we reached. It is an unfair question because I won’t give you the answer you want. Everything is there for discussion,” Momoh said.

In the same vein, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande said he doesn’t know of such an unwritten agreement. According to him, in a newspaper interview he stated that the issue of zoning started from the NPN era.

“The whole thing was voluntary, not asked for by Northerners, I was one of those that attended meeting at the Festac. We were there and Akinloye and the rest of the people in the South told us that at the moment, the supporters seemed to be coming from the North, and you were the ones promoting NPN and we accepted it, therefore we are going to concede the presidency to you in the North and then West the leadership of the party and East for the vice presidency. That was what happened. Akinloye had it and also Ekwueme, and Shagari was elected. Then, there was a coup.

“When we came back in 1999, it started with Obasanjo because we thought the West of South should be pacified with the position. He did eight years. That was the arrangement of the NPN that transformed into PDP. PDP accepted that arrangement. Yar’ Adua succeeded Obasanjo and did two and half years and died. By the constitution of Nigeria, the vice president took over from his boss. Jonathan even though from South took over and constitutionally and finished. He could then have stepped aside, but after finishing the arrangement, he then went on to contest, which was supposed to be the position of a Northerner at that time to complete the eight years. So that we have eight years in the South and eight years in the North, but he refused and contested and won. Now he wanted to contest the second term which would have given him the longest serving president in Nigeria. But Muhammadu Buhari defeated him, but not on the platform of the PDP.

“He was defeated on another party, APC, which has no arrangement of North and South. Now Buhari is finishing but it was the PDP that has rotation arrangement that would have allowed the North to conclude its four years so that the whole thing should shift back again to the South. When we talk about South and North, it didn’t mean we have a say in what comes out of South.

“The South has three zones and the North has three zones also. Obasanjo did that of the West; Jonathan did that of the South-South. So, if it moves now to the South, in my own opinion unless the people of South decide otherwise, it would have been the Southeast now. In the North, we have the Northwest, the Northeast and the North Central. When it moves to the North, it should circulate among the North Central, Northeast and Northwest.

“As far as I’m concerned, the arrangement for the PDP is such that the North will still have the next four years after Buhari, so that it will shift back to the South; and in the South, the Southeast will have it. But then APC seems to be mixing it up because of the personalities involved. Our politics in Nigeria is more of personalities than of ideology and that is why people are confused.

“When Fashola is talking about arrangement within the APC, I wouldn’t say no. They can decide to do like PDP and that can be another arrangement for the Southeast. “The most important point is that it is not a constitutional matter. We are a developing country and there will be a day when we trust ourselves and think that we are now Nigerian citizens not based on any sectionalism, as the president can come from anywhere.

“Probably Fashola knows about the agreement but if there was, we don’t know about it. He knows it, he should tell us more about it. Even that of the PDP was unwritten. This thing should not bring any problem in Nigeria because it is not a constitutional matter.”

Going further, former Lagos State Chairman of the party, Henry Ajomale, said there was such an agreement and warned the party leadership against taking any decision that will contravene the unwritten agreement among leaders of the party in 2015 that power should rotate between the North and the South.

Ajomale said presidency goes to the South immediately President Muhammadu Buhari completes his tenure in 2023. He warned that contravening the agreement would spell doom for the party.

Source: https://www.nairaland.com/6286295/apc-l ... -over-2023

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NiceGuy
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November 29th, 2020, 3:07 pm

We're watching
I'm really not that nice... :mrgreen:
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Iam_gha
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November 29th, 2020, 3:11 pm

you will soon best yourselves in the public :lol;
impress yourself.
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TitanKenneth
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November 29th, 2020, 3:12 pm

:lol;
Follow me on facebook "Titan Kenneth".
https://mobile.facebook.com/profile.php ... speed_dial
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Dube
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November 29th, 2020, 4:13 pm

They should kill themselves
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TitanKenneth
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November 29th, 2020, 4:27 pm

Dube wrote:They should kill themselves
:lol;
Follow me on facebook "Titan Kenneth".
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Horlar626
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November 29th, 2020, 4:32 pm

their film go sweet o.
make i sit down and watch.
the sun is rising :thnk: :thnk:
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Gloria50
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Location: Enugu, Nigeria
 

May 16th, 2021, 12:10 pm

Really
Telephone
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