PDP’S ZONING DEBATE: COMPETENCE OVER SECTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, GBENGA HASHIM VANGUARD
By Olayiwola Ibrahim // Kano, the coordinator of the Gbenga Hashim Vanguard, Hon. Aminu Bala Wudilawa, told Freedom Radio that political trends in the North favour competence and capacity over sectional arrangements.
He alleged that only a few politicians eyeing the vice presidential slot were pushing for zoning to the South.
Hashim has consistently maintained that only a president chosen on the basis of competence and patriotism can fix Nigeria’s challenges.
He stressed that historical precedent in the PDP supports an open presidential contest.
Even in 1999, when there was strong sentiment for accommodating the South-West due to the annulment of June 12, candidates from the North such as Alhaji Abubakar Rimi were not barred from contesting.
The same happened in 2002, when President Olusegun Obasanjo, then a sitting president, faced aspirants from the North like Chief Barnabas Gemade and Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, he recalled.
Hashim also cited Nigeria’s voting history as evidence that zoning is unnecessary.
On June 12, 1993, the great people of Kano set ethnicity aside and voted for Chief M.K.O. Abiola against Alhaji Bashir Tofa, their kinsman.
More recently, in the 2023 elections, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won in Northern Nigeria against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a Northern candidate, yet lost his home state Lagos to a candidate from another zone.
This shows Nigerians are capable of making political decisions without bowing to ethnic or sectional instincts, he said.
Similar reactions have continued to pour in from sister groups, individuals and organisations within and outside Nigeria, warning the PDP of looming consequences that, they alleged, may jeopardise its chances of reclaiming power in 2027.
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