The Nation Newspaper

Tag: micro zoning

  • PDP North’s state chairmen reject micro-zoning to Southwest

    PDP North’s state chairmen reject micro-zoning to Southwest

    PDP chairmen in northern states have urged delegates to the convention to ignore a directive to vote only aspirants from the South-West for the National Chairmanship position.

    A group of elders from the northern zone last week in Abuja resolved to encourage northern delegates to the convention to vote a candidate from the south-west to emerge as the next party boss.

    But PDP Chairmen in the 19 northern states and the FCT, who reviewed the elders’ stance at a meeting in Abuja, dissociated themselves from the directive which they said was “undemocratic”.

    Mr Hassan Hyat, Chairman, Forum of PDP State Chairmen in the North, who read their communique, said it was not right to sub-zone the seat to any particular zone.

    “The position cannot be sub-zoned to a particular zone in the south because that will disenfranchise other contestants. We, as state chairmen, cannot be party to any micro-zoning.

    “The party’s decision at the Port Harcourt Convention is final and binding on all. No one has the right to change or tamper with it,” Hyat declared.

    Recalling the declaration at the Port Harcourt Convention last year, Hyat said that the seat was zoned to all parts of the south and stressed the need to allow all zones in the south to present their candidates.

    “We stand by that position and have resolved to reject any sub-zoning to a particular area,” the Forum declared.

    The Forum further declared that zoning was a cardinal principle of the PDP and should “never be toyed with”.

    It urged delegates to assess candidates on merit and vote as directed by their conscience.

    The party chiefs advised the contestants to be “temperate and civil” in the use of language and avoid actions or statements that could create sharp division within the family.

    “The party’s interest should be the principal guiding spirit. No other personal or group’s interest should be placed over it,” the group declared.

    It urged members seeking positions to “understand that power comes from God” and be prepared to accept whoever God ordained to lead the PDP.

    The group commended the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP for strengthening the party after its protracted crises, and expressed happiness that the PDP was growing stronger “every minute”.

  • George: PDP leaders’ position on micro- zoning lacks fairness

    George: PDP leaders’ position on micro- zoning lacks fairness

    The PDP Caretaker Committee should to exercise its expected role fairly, the Bode George for PDP National Chairman Campaign Committee has said.

    It explained that the issue it raised on micro zoning had to do with what it “perceives to be an inadvertent abdication of responsibility by the present managers of the party is totally without prejudice.” “

    In a statement yesterday, by its Director General, Ibrahim K. Aliyu, the committee said:

    “We harbor no malice. We intend no unnecessary enmity.

    “Our intention is not to personalize what we observe as obvious anomaly. Our insistence is that the Caretaker Committee must exercise equitable, fair and justiceable leadership in ensuring that everyone has a sense of belonging and accommodation.

    ” The very pivot of the ideological resolve of our founding fathers remains structured on micro zoning of party offices.

    “They never threw up a blanket, undefined and non-specific zoning arrangement that could provoke disruptive, conflicting and riotous contest among brothers.

    “Our position is that the present superintending leadership of our party should play the original role of spurring and encouraging a balanced, participatory unity wherein every zone within the Nigerian Union is given a sense of equitable accommodation and a sense of belongingness. .

    “That is the essence of micro zoning. If the chairmanship position was zoned to the South West last year in Port-Harcourt in a logical embrace of the dictates of our founding fathers, what has changed now? “Frankly, nothing!

    “This is the very puzzle that yet confounds everyone. The solution of course, does not reside on the pages of newspapers. We believe we should go back to NEC for proper and more enduring resolution of the current issue.”

  • Row over micro-zoning of posts hits PDP

    Row over micro-zoning of posts hits PDP

    The decision of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) leadership on micro-zoning has sparked disagreement between the party and some aspirants in the upcoming national convention.

    The latest face-off was sparked by the decision of the Ahmed Makarfi-led leadership to micro zone other elective positions to some states and ruling out micro-zoning of the chairmanship slot.

    One of the aspirants for the position of National Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, has accused the national leadership of double standards.

    The position of National Secretary has been zoned to the seven states in the Northwest. But some forces within the national secretariat are believed to have micro-zoned it to Katsina State.

    However, Mustapha, who hailed from Kaduna State, has challenged the decision, wondering why the party would micro-zone the position of Secretary to Katsina and refusing to do same in respect of the chairmanship.

    Mustapha, who spoke to reporters yesterday after he returned his nomination documents, described the action as impunity and an attempt to impose a particular candidate.

    He said: “We should first and foremost avoid imposition. We must avoid impunity. We must take PDP back to the people. We must allow people to make their choice.

    “We have heard that there is no micro-zoning. The national chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi repeatedly told Nigerians that there would be no micro-zoning.

    “Unfortunately, what we are beginning to understand now is that non micro-zoning is only for the position of the National Chairman. But for other positions, they can do micro-zoning.”

    “So, we don’t understand it. If one position is not allowed to be micro-zoned, why should you then micro-zone other positions, which are even less in terms of protocol than the National Chairman?”

    But Makarfi has consistently maintained that the decision to micro-zone or not to micro-zone some positions was taken by the party’s convention and that the caretaker committee has no powers to reverse the decision.

  • Bode George: micro zoning best for PDP

    Bode George: micro zoning best for PDP

    National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) aspirant Chief Olabode George, has insisted that the party stood a greater chance with micro zoning and equity.

    George spoke after weekend’s Enugu meeting during a visit to the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the party yesterday. He said all party positions were micro zoned because of the need to give every section of the nation a sense of belonging and accommodation.

    He said the stability and uniqueness of PDP had always been the novelty of micro zoning of the offices.

    This is against the plan to throw the chairmanship open to all three zones in the south instead of allowing the south west geo-political zone, yet to produce a national chairman, to get it.

    He praised the founding fathers for their originality and wisdom as established in the zonal balancing.

    The  PDP Zonal National Chairman, South South, Mr Emmanuel Ogidi received George to the Port Harcourt Zonal office, saying George had always been a friend of the zone especially when things were tough.

    George observed that the party had gone through a tsunami but that the South South zone had remained resolute and firm.

    He recalled how his team worked very hard to reposition the party in the Southwest when he occupied the position of the National Vice Chairman (Southwest).

    He said his team had toured the 137 local governments in the Southwest more than five times.

    “In the end, five states were won. Yet I was railroaded into prison”, he said. .

    George insisted that he would never leave PDP no matter the outcome of the convention.

    He was presented with a copy of the Holy Bible.

  • More crises over micro zoning of party positions

    More crises over micro zoning of party positions

    More crises is brewing in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the North West zone over alleged moves to deny some candidates the opportunity to contest national offices at the forth coming National Convention through micro zoning of the offices earlier zoned to the North West.

    Sources revealed that against the assurance of the Acting National Chairman, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi that no office should be micro zoned, the office of the National Secretary earlier zoned to Katsina and Kaduna States is being micro zoned to Katsina while the National Women leader earlier zoned to Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States is being micro zoned to Kebbi State.

    The source accused Makarfi of deliberately ceding the National Secretary position to Katsina to deprive one of the aspirants, Abubakar Mustapha the chance of becoming National Secretary because of his presidential ambition.

    Abubakar Mustapha who is the immediate past National Organising Secretary of the PDP is a loyalist of former Vice President Namadi Sambo and hails from the same local government area with Makarfi.

    The source said that the sudden change in the arrangement where some persons were alleged to have sat down and micro zoned the positions without any consensus came as a surprise to former political officer holders, party leaders and contestants for such positions.

    The source said that Senator Makarfi wants the position of the National Secretary to go to Katsina State, leaving Kaduna out because of his 2019 Presidential ambition and his alleged plan is to ensure that all elected NWC members from the north west are nominated by him so that they will do his bidding for 2019.

    Makarfi is said not to be comfortable with Mustapha’s emergence over perceived notion that it would affect his 2019 presidential ambition.

    It was also gathered that Makarfi may be kicking against Mustapha because of his closeness and loyalty to former Vice President Namadi Sambo who allegedly beat him to the number two position when Makarfi was said to be eyeing the same post.

    They accused the former Kaduna State governor of not only micro zoning the position to Katsina, but has narrowed it down on a particular former Senator from the state, thereby depriving the aspirants  from going into contest and the people from the two states electing their own National  Secretary.

    It was also gathered that the position of the National Woman leader which was hitherto opened to Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara, is now being micro zoned to Kebbi which is also causing a major problem in the North West geo- political zone.

    Makarfi is also alleged to be preparing what he described as a unity list which he would present at the National Convention as well as do same at the meeting of all PDP governors holding today in Enugu State where he would sell the dummy to the eleven PDP governors because the Enugu meeting would endorse what all the zones have picked.

    An emergency meeting of party leaders from the zone which took place on Thursday night at the Abuja residence of former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa could not resolve the issue as it was said to have ended in deadlock because of irreconcilable differences at the meeting.

    Present at the meeting were former Vice President Sambo; Makarfi; Sule Lamido; former Minister Kabiru Turaki; the Zonal Chairman, Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, among others.

    The source said, “Makarfi had said no to micro zoning of all the offices, but he is doing it now in his own zone, the North West because of his 2019 Presidential ambition which is not good for the party, this is another case of impunity that pushed the PDP from a ruling party to an opposition party, it does not augur well for our party now.

    “Before now, it was said that the National Secretary position should go to Kaduna and Katsina States while the position of National woman leader would go to either Kebbi, Sokoto or Zamfara States, but the people are surprised at the sudden move to micro zone to even individuals.

    “The PDP is in opposition, it does not have the luxury of impunity, Kaduna State is the only state in the North West with a PDP Senator and five members of House of Representatives, the party is strong in the state. Katsina State has produced deputy National Chairman of the party in the person of Ibrahim Shema, the National Financial Secretary, Alhaji Tukur Mani, among others, Kaduna state should be allowed to produce the National Secretary of the party.