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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A Forum of serving and former members of the House of Representatives, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) has charged the party to throw open its presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections.
The forum, at a press briefing, on Thursday, in Abuja, said throwing the PDP ticket to aspirants from all the geo-political zones will make it possible for the best candidate to emerge in the party’s presidential primaries.
Mukhtar Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of the forum, said the opposition party needs its best candidate to save the country from the alleged misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration.
Ahmed stated that rather than zoning, the PDP should be more interested on a candidate who can give the country good governance.
“In a democratic setting such as ours, particularly so in our very democratic PDP, zoning and rotation at no time in our history has taken the place of the democratic and constitutional right to seek any elective office, including the presidency.
“Even when the founding fathers of the party were alive, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was allowed to have his say and the leaders and party members, through their votes, had their way.
“What mattered most to the founding fathers and leaders was getting the right candidate who was sellable, formidable and had capacity to assure of good governance and promote democracy.
“Northern leaders at the time based on the wise decision to promote equity, fairness and justice within the party allowed for a North/South power rotation hence President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years in office.
“Unfortunately, Obasanjo handed over to late President Musa Yar’Adua, who unfortunately spent only two years and answered the call to the great beyond.
“President Jonathan thereafter took over and spent six years which made the South to have 14 years in power at the presidential level,” he stated.
