NDP presidential ticket will be zoned north

Maneuvers have begun on 2023 policy. While some key NDP cadres insist on keeping the presidential ticket in the North, others oppose it. What area do you think your party should produce for a presidential candidate?

We are not the ruling party, but the opposition. Why are people concerned about what the opposition party is doing or not doing? Today, what concerns us directly; In 51% of cases, this is an action or inaction of the ruling party. Probably in 49% of cases it is the action or inaction of the opposition party. So we have to worry about what the ruling party is doing.

Since democracy returned in 1999, that is, 22 years ago; the NDP has had three presidents in 16 years; as for President Obasanjo, there was unanimity in the country that had to be drafted, voted and elected, because at that time Obasanjo was needed in Nigeria, because we needed someone who could fix the country, return the country to its past opportunities; the path of good governance and cohesion. He tried his best, but unfortunately the people in Nigeria must also invoke this quality that brought him back to Christianity and the south. At the end of the term, his successor must be a Muslim and a northerner. Then events led to the fact that Yar’adua began to suffer the moment he took over and died. To maintain the system, the vice president took over responsibility less than a year before his term expired.

In 2011, we can deny him (Jonathan) a job and ask someone to take over or let him continue. I think a clear conscience demands that he be allowed to continue, and I am one of those who supported his re-election in 2011 based on this consideration. This was based on a written understanding that President Jonathan would provide a mandate and remedy some of the injustices that had become apparent in the Nigerian administration. President Jonathan promised and publicly stated that he would like to amend the constitution so that this term will only last for one term. He said that five or six years is better and he will carry out electoral reform. This is because the system that ran the governments in 2003 and 2009 was challenged by the court and other observers. The electoral law will change, and he will have several projects. But for one reason or another, President Jonathan abdicated, which was the death knell for the NDP in 2015, but there were other factors that contributed to this and the system was disrupted.

As for the NDP, the presidency must return to the North, because President Jonathan’s 2011 successor was to be the North’s candidate, not Jonathan. This is an understanding in the PDP and I subscribe to it. We cannot apply the system to APC, and APC cannot apply the system to PDP. We should have some highlights in the PDP, just like they would in APC. His successor (Bukhari) in the APC is expected to be a candidate from southern and Christian roots. Although, as I understand it, President Obasanjo came because of him; that the country needs someone with his consistency and experience. In 2011, there were rumors that circumstances should have allowed the incumbent to continue working. In 2015, President Bukhari’s alleged qualities led him to defeat President Jonathan. People should look for a quality leader and ignore the problem of hidden attributes such as religion, region, and others.

Sir, we are talking about the President of Nigeria, not the President of the NDP. Would it be correct if the North kept the presidency in 2023?

In PDP, this is correct because first you have to speak on three levels. First, the supporters of the party, the presidential candidate from the NDP, then I will talk about the President of Nigeria. Now I will speak to you strictly as a PDP because we are not going to chair the PCA.

Yes, he will be the president of the country, not the party, but first he must have a platform; our party platform because we want to win the election and we have a historical reason to say that the last president of Nigeria was President Goodluck Jonathan, and the next president should be the NDP candidate. Let me say that we must emphasize that the NDP wants to propose a candidate who can win the presidency. When the time comes, this overwhelming desire will be an important contribution to the decision we make. As a person, I will argue that the presidential candidate must be from the North.

But reports say there are proposals to nominate former President Jonathan as your party’s standard bearer. …

No that’s not true. I am a very senior member of the PDP and a board member of its foundation. I have not attended any meetings and have not received any reliable information that the PDP law enforcement authorities are talking about the transfer of the ticket to President Jonathan. And I don’t think President Jonathan will be looking for PDP or APC tickets in 2023; someone who, because of their nationalist sentiments, sense of responsibility and humility, admitted defeat in 2015? The ruling party bailed him out and he also has positive and negative characteristics that can be used against him. He never expected to reach maximum charge, but now he will descend to return to the gallows. I do not think so. I think it will be the highest council for him and it will be a great honor at the retreat.

In the South, the best cadres of your party claim that the North received the presidential ticket in 2019 and the party was defeated. And to those who applied for the zoning agreement in the party. Why don’t you support them to get it in 2023?

I supported Atik Abubakar in the 2019 primary; nobody gave him a ticket. He went into the trenches, fought and fought, and then won the presidential ticket from the NDP. The NDP was looking not for a presidential candidate, but for the president of Nigeria; someone from the NDP received a presidential ticket from the NDP, but the Nigerians did not make him president of Nigeria, which was the ultimate goal. So this ticket was inconclusive.

Are you saying that Atiku should compete in 2023?

Why not, maybe. There are many others who will. I am a politician supporting the transition to the crucible of elections. People must submit to the elections and accept the results of the elections. If they do not accept the results, they must challenge them under the State of Nigeria. People don’t have to ask for a ticket, but declare their interest in the campaign for votes that will win them. This is the meaning of democracy. I don’t want people to talk about primary feelings and considerations.

Do you see PDP defeating APC in 2023?

I want the PDP to take over the government of Nigeria, not just the presidency, but the rest of the states in 2023; but for this you have to work. This is not manna from heaven. Yes, people have to work for it, and we have to change. The attributes of PDP and APC are enough to judge the parties.

For 16 years we have been accused of so many horrible crimes; these people came here for eight years, they have achieved so little or so much that we can compare and contrast. We don’t have to say why the PDP is 16, the APC should be 16. If the PDP has had 16 years of mismanagement, will we allow APC to do 16 years of mismanagement as well? No, we can’t. If you introvert logic, discover the characteristics and weaknesses of leaders that are being imposed by the party, and let the Nigerians decide which candidate the party will nominate, we can elect President of Nigeria because Nigerians demand so much for leadership. in 2023

People claim that in 2019 you ceded your Senatorial District, which you have owned since 1999, to the Governor of Yobe State Mai Mala Buni. How will you react to this?

I admit the obvious; Mai Mala was a member of the NDP from 1999 to 2004. He was a counselor and a young man who respected me very much, which is a fact. The fact is that my candidacy for the NDP in 1999-2015 always allowed me to completely win elections in my region. In 2019, my candidacy for the Senate was rejected by the party leadership when it decided that incumbent members of the National Assembly would have a pre-emptive right, which is undemocratic. I and my supporters did not like this. When we won the elections, we did not receive any help, but we mobilized to achieve our stated goal in this area, unlike other areas, to win the elections. When people use extraterritorial reasons to impose a candidate, people are forced to react. Secondly, I am a victim of the current president.

Then I worked against so many people, and even local leaders and some government officials were agents of the ruling party; many factors were involved. What I consider to be a pride that cannot be taken from me, not only in my area, but throughout Yobe State, you must plan your electoral struggle to defeat me or support me. In my district, for reasons unknown to me, I can determine, in contrast to the current government, what the outcome will be in my senatorial district. This is not my only desire, but I also want to determine the result in my state, which I have not been able to achieve.

The NDP lost the presidential election in 2015, largely because one section felt that President Jonathan should not have run, so they voted against the NDP. I decided internally that I was not going to run again in the elections, but decided to claim the rightful place of the NDP in 2023.

Source: – Daily Trust