THE Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, today, cautioned the party’s leaders on the zoning of its presidential ticket and other elective positions ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Jubrin, who addressed journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, said zoning of offices could destroy the party if not properly handled.
He added that the PDP BoT has been fully constituted in line with the party’s constitution.
Jubrin stressed that the BoT is ready to assist the PDP Governors’ Forum, National Executive Committee (NEC), and other organs of the party to ensure peace ahead of its national convention and the 2023 elections.
He said: “We are not talking about the zoning of the offices of the President, Vice President, Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives yet.
“What I can say is that we should never be personal because when you want to be personal, the issue of disunity will come. The BoT met today in our continuous commitment to bring peace and unity to this party.
“You are aware that the Constitution of the BoT gives us two categories of members. First are the life members, which include all past presidents of Nigeria who are members of the party; all former vice presidents, past Senate presidents, and their deputies.
“Others are all past national secretaries, all past governors and all former chairmen who are alive; the secretaries and chairmen of BoT, who are alive.
“Currently, I am the Chairman of the BoT and fully elected by the constitution of the party and the constitution says the Chairman and Secretary must come either from the North or the South.
“Today, I come from the North, and Adolphus Wabara, the Secretary of the BoT, comes from the South. The constitution also gives the Chairman and the Secretary opportunity to serve for five years only and there is no re-election.
“By God’s grace, we have already spent three years and we are only waiting for the next two years. Another category is five members of the PDP from the six geo-political zones.
“In the zones, there may be three men elected and two women selected while the states produce one each. We have inaugurated them and they came from all the states and zones in Nigeria. So, today, we have the full members of BoT.”
