As the country continues to grapple with the issue of whether or not to zone the office of the president ahead of the 2011 polls, THISDAY can reveal today that the elephant in the room – openly unspoken of – is what happens in 2015.
The zoning issue, which is tearing at the heart of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential race, is expected to be the biggest item on the agenda of a special convention scheduled for next month.
Also, the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, confirmed in Lagos yesterday that there is now enough time for the registration of voters for the forthcoming elections following the amendment of the 2006 Electoral Act.
Zoning has become such a big issue in PDP that the party chieftains are divided down the line into those canvassing its retention, insisting that power should return to the North in 2011 and those saying next year’s presidential race should be open to all Nigerians, including President Goodluck Jonathan from the South.
But THISDAY can report today that the fierce battle over zoning formula is targeted at the 2015 presidential poll, as both Southern and Northern leaders feel whichever zone produces the next president will rule for eight years.
The North/South power rotation arrangement of the party was meant to be for two terms (eight years) per region, but the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after only three years in office means power has returned to the South quickly.
“If (President Goodluck) Jonathan can openly declare today that he would do only one term and leave in 2015, the North will support him,” a senior Northerner told THISDAY yesterday. “We cannot contemplate power being in the South till 2019, which is what will happen if Jonathan does two terms.”
However, Southern politicians are also afraid that if a Northerner becomes president next year, he is likely to go for a second term in 2015, thereby retaining power in the North till 2019. This, too, is “unthinkable”, a Southern governor told THISDAY last night.
To resolve the thorny issue, the mini convention of the PDP will be held next month with suggestions that the provision in the party’s constitution should be looked at again.
PDP national chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, told journalists in Lagos on Sunday night that the party would hold the convention to take far-reaching decisions on zoning and other issues as it prepares for the future.
In the preamble to PDP Constitution, the party states in Article C that it was resolved “to create social-political conditions conducive to national peace and unity by ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities, to conform with the principles of power shift and power sharing by rotating key political offices amongst the diverse peoples of our country and devolving powers equitably between the Federal, State, and Local Governments in the spirit of federalism”.
However, Article 7.2 (c) of the party’s constitution reads: "In pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels."
The PDP chairman specifically spoke on the need to review the eligibility rule for returnee party members to contest for elective offices, saying its high time the party opened up its doors to all and sundry without any discrimination.
A waiver was given Nwodo, who left the party in 2007 and returned last April, to allow him replace former chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor.
Nwodo said the mini convention would also be used to remove the “last vestiges of cabals who have held the party in bondage in the past”.
According to him, the era when the party bulldozes its way to power or gives its tickets to undeserving politicians whose popularity or conducts are questionable is over, saying the focus now will be on winning the hearts and minds of Nigerians.
He said this became imperative because in the past, PDP won elections, but found it difficult to win the hearts and minds of Nigerians.
Nwodo assured Nigerians that henceforth, the party would not be involved in the substitution of candidates who won primary elections.
As part of the party’s commitment to rancor and violence-free primaries, PDP will spell it out clearly in the new constitution that any PDP candidate who employs thugs to pursue his or her ambition “stands disqualified and will be disqualified”.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has directed all his aides involved in the 2011 campaign to withdraw forthwith and face issues of governance.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas, who spoke with journalists in Abuja yesterday, confirmed the ban.
Douglas said: “I am aware that Mr. President has told all of us, his aides, to steer clear of partisan politics and commit ourselves to governance,” Douglas said.
He also declared that President Jonathan has made up his mind not to encourage disunity in the land and would consult widely on the 2011 presidential race before taking any decision.
In Lagos, Jega said the amendment of the Electoral Act has eased the time constraint on INEC as the commission now has enough time to register an estimated 70 million voters for the 2011 polls.
Under the new law passed by the National Assembly last week, the registration can now be done up till November, as against September under the old act.
Also, he admitted that the commission made a mistake in its estimate of the cost for the registration, explaining that the initial calculation was based on two registration officers in each of the 120,000 centres nationwide, whereas the plan is for three per centre.
He said the minimum cost for the equipment would be N57 billion if INEC sources directly from the manufacturers, but will cost an extra 30 per cent (N74 billion) if the commission goes through vendors.
Jega also said the next registration is intended to be “once and for all” as the register would be valid for future elections. Only a regular update will be carried out in the future if the proper one is done now.
“It is expensive but the benefits certainly outweigh the costs,” he said.
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