Tony Okafor, Awka
A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Victor Umeh, has chided the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for throwing open its presidential ticket.
Stating that the PDP presidential ticket ought to have been zoned to the southern part of the country, where it is the turn of the South-East to vie for the position as a matter of equity and fairness, Umeh accused the party of acting in bad faith in the circumstances.
He, however, asked the PDP to remediate the ‘injustice’ by ensuring that its presidential candidate emerged from the South-East in its May 28/29 convention, adding that failure to do so would attract protest voting against the party in the zone.
Umeh, who stated this in an interview with the New National Star in Awka, Anambra State, on Wednesday, said the South-East had remained loyal to the PDP for over 22 years but when it was time to reciprocate the gesture, the party decided to “wear a toga of mischief”.
He said, “The news came to me as a grave shock; PDP is trying to destroy Nigeria. Nigeria has been surviving on a fragile template and the only thing that has been sustaining the country is the hope that one day, all will be well.
“I was a PDP founding member but I resigned in 2001. In the PDP constitution, it is expressly stated that there shall be zoning of offices between the six geopolitical zones and the party has been following it.
“That was why in 1999, the presidency went to the South, and former president Olusegun Obasanjo emerged when he contested against Alex Ekwueme. After Obasanjo, it went to the North through the late president Musa Yar’Adua. When former president Goodluck Jonathan served out, in 2019, PDP zoned the office to the North through former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who didn’t win. Now that President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving, it is the turn of the South.
“So, for the PDP to abandon it, to possibly create another president from the North after Buhari’s tenure, is a disservice to the unity of this country. It’s most painful.
“In 1998, when the PDP was founded and registered, I was in the home of Igwe Peter Anugwu, during his new yam festival. The big wigs in the PDP from the North attended the new yam festival at the Igwe’s palace. Adamu Ciroma, Mrs Solomon Lar, Dr. Ekwueme, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and many other power brokers from the PDP were there. In my presence, Ciroma said the presidency had been zoned to the South and Ekwueme was their choice. We clapped but it didn’t take long the retirement generals came up with a different agenda and they turned it in favour of Obasanjo.
“Despite the disappointments, we continued to support them. In fact, it was what they did to Ekwueme that made me leave the PDP in 2001,” the APGA chief stated.
Umeh regretted that the same PDP that had been putting the South-East in the frontline of attack because of its unwavering support for party had denied zoning of the presidency to the South-East when it was their turn.
He added, “This is a tragedy of very grave proportion. If they throw it open, they can still make a South-East person their presidential candidate. But if they finish this process and fail to support a South-East person to be president, it means, we have been fools all along for supporting the PDP.
“We will mobilise the whole South-East to reject the PDP, no matter who they field. The South-East will be stupid to put one vote for the PDP again. In 2015, we supported Jonathan of the PDP, Buhari won. In 2019, they brought Atiku and the South-East supported the PDP because they used former governor Peter Obi as vice presidential candidate. Let them not think if they deny us the presidential ticket, we will accept vice presidential ticket. It is not the turn of the North to contest the presidential election.”
Umeh who said he was still hopeful that the PDP would correct itself by presenting a South-East presidential candidate in 2923 polls, warned, “But if they don’t do it, I tell you nobody in the South-East will vote for them. We will make it impossible for them to get any vote from the South-East because they have taken us for a ride. It means our labours for the PDP for over 22 years has been in vain. It means the PDP members from the North have been masterminding the marginalisation and segregation against the South-East people in Nigeria.
“Let them save themselves of this embarrassment by nominating someone from the South-East as their presidential candidate. It’s not a threat but votes are our weapons. We will deny them our bloc votes.
“The All Progressives Congress should also wake up. Let the president know that the PDP is up to some pranks and take the historic opportunity of healing all the wounds in Nigeria and stand behind a South-East to become president in 2023. Then we will give the PDP the marching orders.”