Former Vice President of Nigeria under the Obasanjo-led administration, Atiku Abubakar has asked the leaders of the People Democratic Party (PDP) to ignore the calls to zone its presidential ticket to the South ahead of the 2023 elections.
Atiku made the call while addressing PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) members in Abuja during a consultative meeting on Monday, where he urged them to support his Presidential ambition.
He said, “For sure in the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I have paid my dues on the issue of zoning.
“So, therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy. The many years of PDP government eight years and six years all of them were from the south.”
The aspirant pleaded with the BoT for another opportunity to represent the PDP in the coming polls, promising to build bridges across the regions.
“Please join me in building bridges across this country so that every part of this country will have a sense of belonging.”
He also expressed concerns over concerns over the continuity of the party should incase it loses at the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, “I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years.
“By the next eight years, I don’t know how many of us will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.
“So this is a very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival.”
