Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George, has said that zoning is not part of the constitution of Nigeria, and it is a workable arrangement that has sustained the party in the past 23 years.
George, who spoke at a thanksgiving programme in Lagos, also declared that he has no interest in contesting the party’s chairmanship despite the zoning of the position to the North.
He said the zoning of the chairmanship position to the North was a mere recommendation that must be subjected to debate and discussions.
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George is one of the PDP chieftains in the South-West who was speculated to be interested in contesting the party’s chairmanship position ahead of the October convention, Daily Trust reports.
While he confirmed that many people have been calling on him to contest again, he declared he had no interest in the position again.
“At 76, 77, I am still a young man. People have been calling on me to contest, what am I looking for,” he asked.
He, however, advised the party to try as much as possible to get it right with the zoning of offices, stressing that the founding fathers of the party adopted the formula to ensure that every region has a fair share of major political offices in the country.
He noted that it was important for all party stakeholders to sit together and agree on workable zoning ahead of the 2023 election. George said contrary to the belief among some party members, and party offices zoned to a particular region are usually micro-zoned for fairness and equity among the constituent states.
He explained that it is only the Presidency that is not micro-zoned.
“Our opponents are trying to play games, waiting for us to make wrong moves. Millions of Nigerians are watching us. Let us do it right. We shouldn’t mess up this time around,” he said.
“I was the first elected Vice-Chairman in the South-West. I know the number of local governments in the whole of the South-West. The way the founding fathers configured the zone, there is no zoning if you look at our constitution. Still, our founding fathers created the six geopolitical zones for a purpose so that no Nigerian would be left behind.
“It is called turn-by-turn Nigeria Limited, that brought that sense of belonging, commitment, that sense of loyalty to our nation. We are drifting very badly. We will continue to say it.“
