Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has criticised the party’s recent decision to implement a zoning system for the presidency.
Gatekeepers News reports he argued that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP has made a significant mistake by adopting this zoning decision.
“I’m not saying that they didn’t do it by majority. They did it by a majority. It was quite democratic. All the organs of the party decided. But it made a big error,” he said.
He warning that it amounted to an endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s reelection bid.
Olawepo-Hashim, a former presidential candidate, issued the warning on Monday, shortly after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja.
He described the move as “unprecedented” in the history of the party.
“Zoning the presidency to the South is a default campaign for the return of President Bola Tinubu. Because those who are mounting this campaign of zoning to the South are the same people who are saying, ‘We are in PDP, but we work for President Tinubu,’” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
According to Olawepo-Hashim, the decision effectively weakens the PDP’s chances of producing a viable presidential candidate.
He noted that the party had never barred any region from contesting the presidency, citing past conventions as examples.
“It’s a default campaign for the PDP not to have a viable candidate by those people. So this is a subtle campaign for an easy ride for Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
“The PDP has never zoned the presidency before. In 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was then General Obasanjo, contested against Alhaji Rimi from northern Nigeria and some other candidates, including Alex Ekwueme, etc.
“In 2003, as a sitting president in the villa, President Obasanjo had to contest again with Chief Barnabas Gemade from Benue, Alhaji Rimi from Kano. The party never shut the door against any zone,” he said.
Olawepo-Hashim further warned that the zoning decision could spark a constitutional crisis, arguing that it violates provisions of the Constitution.
“The constitution of Nigeria does not allow you to discriminate against a party member when it comes to an elective position on account of where he comes from.
