A FORMER Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has announced his support for the south to produce the next president in 2023.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, who made this known today via Twitter, has in effect, ditched the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
This implies that Fayose could throw his weight behind the likes of Asiwaju Tinubu, Peter Obi and other flagbearers from the south.
“The PDP Constitution provides for a rotational Presidency. Section 3(c) provides that the Party shall pursue its aims & objectives by adhering to the policy of the rotation & zoning of Party & Public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness.
“The current President of Nigeria is a 2-term Northern Presidency, thus implying that it MUST be a Southern Presidency in 2023 or NOTHING,” the former governor tweeted on Wednesday. “Nigerians should await details soon.”
Fayose has been vocal against the PDP choosing former vice president Atiku Abubakar, a northerner as its presidential candidate for the 2023 election.
The former governor, who contested PDP’s presidential ticket for the 2023 election, warned earlier that the party will fail should it refuses to zone its presidential ticket to the southern part of Nigeria.
He said the zoning committee of the party, from which he was a member, made an error for failing to specially state where it would pick its next presidential flag bearer from.
“If we don’t begin to put things in perspective and rightfully, our children will ask questions. The unfortunate demise of former President Yar’Adua is not enough an excuse for anybody to take away the letters of our constitution,” Fayose said in an interview on Channels Television.
“Do we say if you contest an election and you lost, they (the north) must continue to produce you so that you win before zoning will count? No! The last election has given opportunity to the north. If they had won that election, they would be there today. I don’t believe in not zoning this presidential ticket.”
Fayose has since his loss at the PDP primaries hosted the presidential candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi at his Lagos residence.
While he is yet to declare his support for any candidate, there are claims that Fayose is open to working with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu.
Fayose in 2019 said he would support Tinubu whom he described as a leader in the southwest if he decides to run for president.
