Ahead of the 2019 Presidential election, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has ruled out any possibility of micro zoning its ticket to a particular geo-political zone in the North.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this in reaction to a call by Rabiu Kwankwaso, the lawmaker representing Kano Central senatorial district, that the PDP should pick its Presidential candidate from the North-West Region to stand a better chance of ousting All Progressives Congress (APC) from Aso Rock in 2019.
Ologbondiyan, who had often insisted that the leadership of the party would not stand in the way of delegates in the determination of the PDP flag bearer for the 2019 Presidential election, noted that all aspirants would reach out to delegates to present their plans for Nigerians ahead of the polls.
He said: “Senator Kwankwaso said what in his opinion, represents the best option for the PDP but as a party that is democratic, there is no way we will shut out any aspirant because of where he comes from.
“The party has encouraged them (aspirants) to reach out to Nigerians and present their plans so that at the end, the one that will emerge the candidate will carry the others along.
“I repeat, we are not going to shut anybody out of the Presidential race because we believe each of these aspirants has what it takes to outperform President Buhari of the APC if given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of this nation.”
The North-West region currently has formidable aspirants on the platform of the PDP, including Senator Ahmed Makarfi, former governor of Kaduna State, his Kano and Sokoto states’ counterparts, Ibrahim Shekarau, and Attahiru Bafarawa respectively as well as erstwhile Special Duties Minister, Tanimu Turaki, and famous businessman, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the party has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security operatives to arrest in 24 hours leaders of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association for calling on Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to either quit office or face its wrath, in the ongoing frosty relationship between the Presidency and the leadership of the Senate.
It said the outburst of the group mirrored the position of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to force Saraki out of office at all cost.
Spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement that the unguarded statement by Miyetti Allah has exposed the synergy between the ruling party and some troublesome elements, who were being used to stoke division and create violent crisis that had resulted in daily bloodlettings in various parts of the country.
The statement read: “In the light of these treasonable and inciting utterances by Miyetti Allah, we demand that President Muhammadu Buhari should within the next 24 hours, order the arrest and commence immediate trial of the leadership of this group, otherwise Nigerians will henceforth hold him directly responsible for the utterances and actions of Miyetti Allah.
“It is now abundantly clear to Nigerians that those fomenting crisis, including the bloody clashes in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Nassarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Edo, Borno, Yobe, Enugu, Kogi, Adamawa and other states in our country, have political backers who now want to channel them to achieve their unpatriotic quest to subvert our constitution and forcibly take over the National Assembly.
“It is common knowledge that Mr. President has come under heavy public criticisms on how his body language has condoned the unguarded utterances and actions of these characters.
“The PDP is aware that Miyetti Allah does not represent the views and interests of the vast majority of cattle breeders or even any ethnic group in the country.
“We urge all good spirited Nigerians to rise in condemnation of the actions and utterances of these misguided elements, who are being used to attempt a constitutional breach that portends grave danger to national cohesion and our hard earned democracy.”
