NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Former Minister of State for FCT and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Chief Jumoke Akinjide, speaks to a group of journalists on the presidential election, how Atiku Abubakar and others will perform in the zones, the focus of the next president, why President Muhammadu Buhari must ensure credible elections, among other issues. DARE ADEKANMBI brings excerpts.
Why do you think, Atiku, who is a Northerner, should succeed Buhari who is concluding eight years of two terms?
First of all, as you know, I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We had a very long and deliberate process before we came up with our presidential candidate. At first, the position of the North and Atiku in particular was that if it is going to the South, then it must be zoned to the South-East. That was his position. By the reason that South-West has done eight years and the South-South has done six years, it is only the South-East from the South that has not had the presidency. But certain people who wanted to contest said they should zone it to the South and not to the South-East, at which point the North now said if that is the case, then it should be thrown open to the whole country because if it is a question of equity or who has not done, then the North-East too has not been president, neither has the North-Central. So, that was how we ended up with it being thrown open to everybody. And, of course, in a democracy, you have to live with the results you get. The delegates looked at all the aspirants and Atiku Abubakar got the majority votes.
As you know, the North-East has never had the presidency. In fact, the South, since 1999, has had it for 14 years. People don’t like it when we say it, but it is the truth. The South has had it for 14 years. When Buhari finishes, the North will have had it for 10 years. So, stricto sensu, yes, North handing over to North. But strictly, if you look at it in terms of the number of years, there is no inherent inequity in the North retaining it because if a southerner had won it, the South will have had 22 years to the North’s 10. So, it was a toss-up. I have no moral problems because I know the candidate that the PDP threw up has been proven during the campaign to be the best candidate that can take Nigeria out of the mess that it is in. We are in a hole and we need to stop digging. Atiku Abubakar is the person that has the experience. This is not the time for amateurs; it is not the time for those who we do not trust with power. It is not the time for those we know have had power and have abused it and have continued to abuse it long after they have left office. So, Nigeria can’t afford to get it wrong. I believe Atiku is the best choice for Nigeria at this time…
