PDP Board Declares Presidential Tickets Open
PDP Board Declares Presidential Tickets Open The Governor of Bauchi State says eligible candidates from different states can run for the position.
ABUJA: Aside from thinking from many stakeholders that North-East and South-East geo-political zones that have had the shortest period at the Presidency should be given some unique consideration, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) panel has opened the 2023 presidential ticket.
Bala Mohammed, The Governor of Bauchi state and Chairman of, PDP 2019 election review committee, gave this recommendation on Wednesday while submitting the committee’s report to the leaders of the party.
The Governor said: “In line with specific unwritten conventions of the nation’s history, a lot of people believe that, for fairness and equity, the North East and southeast geo-political zones that have had the shortest time at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, when choosing the presidential candidate of the PartyParty, for the 2023 elections.
“While we agree that this is a strong argument, we should not forget that Nigeria is privileged to have many capable and very experienced leaders in every part of the country. Moreover, the necessities of the moment demand that nothing be compromised in choosing a leader, with the attributes to disentangle the country from the present predicament.
“Therefore, we believe that every Nigerian, from every part of the country, should be allowed to choose the most suitable candidate, through a credible primary election, as a way of institutionalizing a merit-based leadership recruitment procedure for the Nation.”
The committee also suggested that the PartyParty actively encourages the current amendment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make it indeed independent and enable them to conduct elections free of the state’s forceful apparatus, underhand manipulations, and intimidation of voters.
He said that the military should not be present as the election is conducted because their presence screams intimidation and questions the honesty of the process.
“Above all, it will not afford some of the candidates an equal playing field that is the best way to ascertain the desires of the people.
Also, the Police should not be partial in the supervision of elections.”
Pushing for analysis and endorsement of the 2014 Constitutional Conference Report or a new constitutional conference to be organized, the panel recommended that the current constitutional arrangement is insufficient to stand side by side with changing democratic and statistical issues.
“The infectious collisions in inter-governmental relations, especially between the federal government and the states, suggest that the present constitutional arrangement is highly deficient in contending with changing democratic and data challenges.
“Our Party must therefore push for either an assessment and approval of the 2014 Constitutional Conference Record or for a new constitutional conference to be organized. In short, the PartyParty should advocate for genuine restructuring that fosters decentralization, engenders national unity, guarantees the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians no matter where they reside in the country, and promotes economic prosperity and the overall well-being of all our people,” Mohammed said.
In his speech, Prince Uche Secondus, the National Chairman of PDP, said that the Bala Mohammed Committee’s report would form the bedrock of the Party’sparty’s plan ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He said: “I do not doubt in my mind that your report will form the bedrock of our Party’sparty’s plan ahead of 2023 general elections. The National Working Committee (NWC) will study and analyze your information meticulously and develop a position that will be beneficial to the PartyParty.
“The PDP is leaving no stone unturned to make sure it regains federal power, and this report will be the take-off point and keystone to our plans ahead of 2023.”
Relying on the suggestions of this report, the NWC, according to Secondus, will work with workshops, consultants, and all critical stakeholders of the PartyParty to enhance the new PDP history that will help deal with the yawning absence of leadership in the country.
“We will continually build the party along the line of the recommendations to cultivate a large assistance base with utmost urgency towards 2023,” he said.
Encouraging President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embark on electoral restructuring, the PDP National Chairman said, “We implore the President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC administration to embark on urgent electoral restructuring that will ensure free, fair, and transparent elections in the country and put Nigeria on the same level as other developed democracies in the world.
“Having failed roundly in delivering any dividend to Nigerian people, and has brought the nation to a status of a failed country with an unprecedented collapse of all structures. APC is aware of the fact that Nigerians would not want to do anything with them again.
“As a result, they are putting all dots on the way to carrying out honest elections. But we must warn that the only thing keeping this country alive today is that APC will be no more by 2023. They are aware of this truth, and they are trying to use their usual publicity to create a different image of themselves. Still, Nigeria knows better and cannot be fooled again.”
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