Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has advocated that the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), should give its presidential ticket to a candidate that can win an election, not minding what part of the country the candidate comes from.
According to Tambuwal, “I’m appealing to my party that we should be talking about how to win the election; not just not zoning of where the President is coming from”.
He added that “The President can come from wherever, provided he has the capacity and competence to fix Nigeria of the moment. The Nigeria of 1998 is different from the Nigeria of 2023.
“As I said before, in 2015, the APC, deliberately out of strategy sorted out President Muhammadu Buhari from Katsina state. Meanwhile, the last president from the northern part of the country was the Late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, from the same Katsina State.
“Because they believe they can win an election with him. It is now the APC is talking about zoning. When they were looking for the presidency and power, they didn’t talk about zoning. They got someone they believe could check the box at that moment and deliver”, Tambuwal said.
The governor’s comment comes amidst agitation for the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South.
Recall that last year, southern governors, regardless of party affiliation, in a communiqué, said Southern Nigeria must produce the next president.
Like Tambuwal, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has kicked against the PDP zoning its presidential ticket.
Stakeholders have opined that should the PDP zone its ticket to the south, the likes of Tambuwal and Abubakar and other northerners in PDP could be schemed out of the contest.
