PDP zoning: Members threaten parallel convention

ABUJA — The zoning of the chairmanship position in the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has sharply divided
members of the party, with some leading stakeholders
vowing to hold a parallel convention should the
chairmanship position be zoned to the North-East.
The disagreement came to a head, Tuesday, when the
meeting of the committee on the zoning of positions in the
party was stalemated and adjourned indefinitely.
Party sources told Vanguard that associates of the
incumbent chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, were
bringing pressure on all to zone the office to the North-East.
According to sources in the party, while a few governors in
the party want the chairmanship position zoned to the
North-East, other members of the party, including some on
the Board of Trustees, BoT, are opposed to this position and
have vowed to organize a parallel convention, if the position
is zoned to the North-East.
The sources said the decision by the Governor Udom
Emmanuel-led committee on zoning to retain the position in
the North-East has pitched the committee against some
major forces in the party, who believe that zoning the
position to the North-East was just a formula to allow the
incumbent to retain the position.
According to a member of the BoT, the selection of
members of the zoning committee is carefully done to
ensure that the zoning favoured the incumbent chairman,
Senator Ali Sheriff.
“We are aware of the intrigues going on but we will not
allow that to happen. We know that some governors,
especially that of Ekiti State, are working hard to retain the
zoning to the North-East.
"What he failed to understand is that the party took a
decision long time ago to zone the Presidency to the North
and the party chairman to the South-West.
"How can the President and the party chairman come from
the same zone? It is not going to work. We in the South-
West are ready to take what belongs to us and we will not
trade our right for a pot of porridge,” the member, who does
not want to be identified, said.