Ex International Boxer’s Assertion On Northern Vs Southern Politics
The North vs The South in Nigeria politics.
It is now clear that PDP Northern Delegates are more in numbers than Southern Delegates.
Ex International boxer Mazi Comr Ikechukwu Okoronkwo has asserted that throwing weight behind regional political parties by top political office holders from various geo political zone will promote peace and Unity that may reduce insecurity in Nigeria.
Source, however, said the refusal of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to sign the amended version of the Electoral Act, 2022 had affected the planning of some of the aspirants.
“If the new Act had been signed, it would have increased the chances of some of the governors, because members of the National Assembly from their states would have been among the delegates and they would have lined up behind their governors,”
Another source said.
Before the new order, there were more delegates from the southern parts of the country on account of the fact that the PDP controls more states in the South.
However, with the exclusion of statutory delegates and with the provision that only elected delegates, one from each local government area, are eligible to vote during today’s convention, there is a shift in the balance of power between the North, with more local government areas, and the South.
It was gathered that the new arrangement would be in favour of the likes of Atiku and Saraki.
Political watchers are of the opinion that delegates from the state caucuses of the party from the North will vote in mass for Atiku and Tambuwal.
It was also observed that a good number of delegates from the South were likely to vote for Atiku, Wike and Saraki.
There is the likelihood that the exit of Obi from the party has opened the eastern flank to hunting and many of the delegates from the region will prefer to go with Atiku than Wike.
Apart from Abia and Enugu states, whose governors are said to be behind Wike, it was learnt that delegates from the South-East might be shared by contenders like Atiku and Anyim.
A delegate from Ogun State, who spoke with journalists under the condition of anonymity said, “We have been in opposition for almost 12 years. We are not here to play or to collect cheap inducements. We are here for real business and what we are looking at is the aspirant among the lot who can win in the general elections and mobilise federal power for us to win back our states for the PDP. You remember that before 2003, the whole of the South-West was in the Alliance for Democracy. But you recall that it was Baba Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku who brought the PDP to government houses in the South-West.
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