Fresh facts emerged in Abuja, on Sunday about how the decision to zone the National Chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party was arrived at.
It was gathered that the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and his Southern colleagues had strategized on how best to push for a Southerner to emerge as the party’s standard bearer in 2023.
It was learnt that the Southern governors had come under immense pressure by party members in the zone to put their money where their mouth was on the issue.
A source who was privy to what transpired during the review meeting held by the PDP Governors Forum, in Abuja, on Wednesday preceding the final meeting of the zoning committee, gave an insight into what happened.
The source who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media said, “When the meeting started, Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku in his opening remarks tabled three options to be considered.
“The options include whether to retain the current executive; swap the positions between North and South or sack existing executives and throw all positions open.
“Governor Makinde who spoke after Ishaku announced a preference for the second option which was to swap the positions between the North and South.
“This led to an argument between the two governors because the Taraba State governor expressed reservations about the choice. This prompted Makinde to urge him to state his preference and subject it to the democratic process.”
Another source said as soon as calm was restored, the Governors of Akwa- Ibom, Edo and Rivers spoke in support of the position canvassed by Makinde which tallied with their positions which they argued was in the interest of justice. The position was eventually accepted and ratified by the zoning committee.
This development ensured that key positions such as the National Chairman, Deputy National Chairman, the National Secretary and National Legal Adviser would swap positions between the two regions.
Copyright PUNCH.
