The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday approved the zoning of the party’s chairmanship position to the North.
The decision followed the adoption of the recommendation contained in the report of the PDP National Convention Zoning Committee chaired by Enugu Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The Ugwuanyi zoning committee had swapped the chairmanship and all other elective party positions presently held by persons from North with those from the South.
Briefing journalists shortly after the meeting, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said following NEC approval, party leaders in the six geopolitical zones have been mandated to go back to base and micro zone the various elective party positions among the states in their various states.
Apparently, following the controversy that greeted the zoning swap, Ologbondiyan said the NEC would meet again at a later date to consider the report of another committee chaired by the Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed.
The Bala Mohammed committee had recommended that the party’s 2023 presidential ticket be thrown open to all comers, regardless of ethnic origins of the contestants.
Ologbondiyan however, would not say if the NEC meeting meant to discuss the Bala Mohammed report would hold before the party’s October 30-31 national convention.
The NEC meeting was well attended by the party’s governors, National Assembly members, former governors, former cabinet ministers and former party chairmen.
Others at the meeting were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin; former Senate President, David Mark among others.