The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday adopted the report submitted by the Governor Ifeanyi Uguanyi-led committee that recommended the zoning of the office of the national chairman of the party to the north.
Meeting in its 94th regular session at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, the committee also resolved to defer consideration of the Governor Bala Mohammed-led committee that had earlier recommended throwing open the 2023 presidential ticket of the party to all zones.
The National Publicity Secretary is the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, who briefed reporters on the outcome of the meeting, affirmed that the NEC resolved not to deliberate on other issues outside the Uguanyi committee report.
Recall that the Uguanyi committee had recommended that offices being held by southerners in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party be swapped with those held by northerners.
However, the zoning committee, which also has Governor Sam Ortom of Benue state as its deputy chairman and the Deputy Governor of Zamfara state, Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed, as secretary, washed its hands off the zoning of the presidency, vice president, or legislative positions.
But it affirmed that offices zoning in the PDP has traditionally been between north and south.
A communique issued at the end of the committee’s meeting in Enugu on Thursday read: “At the end of the deliberations of the PDP National Zoning Committee, it was resolved as follows:
“The National Zoning Committee of the PDP was given the mandate to zone National offices to be contested by all PDP Members of the Party at the PDP National Convention of the Party scheduled for October 30/31 2021 by the National Executive Committee of the Party.
“That the mandate of the Committee does not include Zoning of the offices of the President, Vice President and other Executive and Legislative offices of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And the decision of the Committee to zone the Party offices does not in any way affect the executive and legislative offices in Nigeria.
“That zoning of offices on PDP has traditionally been between the North and South of Nigeria.
“The decision of the PDP Zoning Committee is in line with the Constitution of the Party on Zoning and rotation of Party and national offices in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness.
“Consequently, the current offices being held by officers in the Southern Zones of the country, namely, South West, South East, and South-South zones, should swap places with the offices currently in the northern zones of Nigeria, namely, North West, North East, and North Central zones.
“We want to thank the Party, especially the National Executive Committee that set up this Committee on September 9, 2021, for finding us worthy to serve the Party in the capacity of Zoning Committee members.
“We shall pass on our recommendations to the National Executive Committee of the Party through the National Working Committee of the Party.”
The PDP NEC in its October 9 meeting, set up the zoning committee alongside the national convention planning committee led by Adamawa state Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.
Source:- Tribuneonline
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