Sunday Okobi
Former acting National Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and an aspirant for the national chairmanship position,
Prince Uche Secondus, on Tuesday stated that at no time did former President, Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan, endorse the micro zoning of national chairmanship seat.
Secondus's position came just as a woman aspirant for the
post of the PDP National Women Leader, Baraka Umar, cautioned the party against
over-playing the zoning card to the detriment of its electoral interest.
President Jonathan was reported to have asked chairmanship aspirants
to respect agreement on micro zoning so
as to avert crisis in the party.
However, Secondus said the former president as a loyal and
dedicated leader of the party couldn't have said that since he is fully aware
that it is the decision of the party convention to zone the chairmanship
position to the three zones in the South.
In a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity, Secondus
For Chairman Campaign Organisation, Ike Abonyi,
the aspirant urged his colleagues to respect leaders of the party
especially former president and heads of state, and stop dragging them into
taking partisan roles.
The statement said the report in one of the national
dailies claiming that President Jonathan wants the national chairman to come from
a particular zone is not only a fabrication from the reporter but deliberately
intended to mislead.
"President Jonathan, being a loyal and dedicated
leader of the party, couldn't have said that since he is fully aware that it is
the decision of the party convention to zone the chairmanship position to the
three zones in the South.
According to the statement, "Jonathan knows as
a fact that our constitution states clearly that nobody or group or any organ
of the party can change convention decision except a convention, and he
couldn't have said what is attributed to him.
"It's disrespectful for anybody to have dragged
the name of the former president to the media, by trying to say what he did not
say.”
Secondus then advised members of the party particularly the
delegates to the December 9 convention to disregard the concocted story.
He alleged that there
are plans by some aspirants to discredit the national convention and weaken the
PDP before the 2019 general elections.
The media office said it gathered from intelligence
that some national chairmanship aspirants have mapped out strategies aimed at
furnishing media houses with stories claiming that they have been endorsed by
these elders.
It said that such mischief has far reaching
implications for the desired harmony and peace in the party since the elders
are our fall backs for unbiased roles.
"The motive of those supplying media houses
with fake stories is clear, which is to discredit the convention and weaken the
party ahead of the general election, but they would not succeed because our
delegates will not be swayed by that.
"Bad enough that some aspirants in their
desperation to lead the party at all cost have dragged some of our revered
members of the Board of Trust (BOT) into playing clear bias roles and now want
to drag former president in.
"Severally, our leaders have been boxed into a
corner by aspirants who put words into their mouth knowing that they would not
want to come public to deny or concur."
While speaking shortly after submitting her nomination form,
Umar said: "I don't believe in micro zoning. Equity is not the same thing
as fairness. When you want to be equal you might not be fair.
"I am not a proponent of micro zoning but it is
a good way of giving sense of belonging.”
Similarly, another PDP chairmanship aspirant, Chief
Raymond Dokpesi, has expressed concern over resort to abuse and denigrate opponents
on the pages of newspapers and social media by aspirants and their supporters.
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