Atiku speaks against zoning, says Nigeria's president can come from any region

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has faulted the political arrangement in which the presidency is rotated between the southern and northern part of Nigeria.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections said zoning is not the solution to Nigeria’s problems.

Atiku, while speaking at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja on Thursday, October 7, 2021, maintained that the president of Nigeria could come from any region.

He said, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the right to determine its rules and how the party should be governed. The people of Nigeria also have the rights to determine who governs them.

“Where the president comes from has never been the problem of Nigeria. I can cite examples — neither will it be the solution.

“There is no such thing as a president from southern Nigeria or a president from northern Nigeria. There is only one — a president from Nigeria, for Nigeria and by Nigerians.

“Talking about inclusion, I will like to see a new national working committee of our party that has sizeable numbers of youths and women.

“The decision of NEC today will either see us PDP in the villa in 2023 or not. Since the inception, this party has faced serious challenges and has risen above sentiment to solve those challenges and move forward.”

Atiku’s remark on zoning came days after the Southern Governors Forum maintained that the next president of Nigeria must be a southerner.

The governors also threatened to oppose any political party that fields a northern candidate for president in 2023.