PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper News Across The Region
Related Articles
By Aleruchi Nice Tobouleyafa Alamieyesiegha
The clamour for the much acclaimed shift in power, that is rotation among regions as to which produces the next occupant of Aso Rock Villa Abuja, Nigeria’s presidential seat, has been so much talked about by Nigerians without a fair share of understanding of what the founding fathers of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had laid down for successors to the seat and the 1998/1999 gentleman’s agreement by power brokers.
It is a privilege to recount here that the tensed mood of the nation by 1993 to 1999 was that late MKO Abiola a southerner, running on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), contested against Ahaji Bashir Tofa a Northerner and of National Republican Convention (NRC), was perceived to have won a democratically conducted election that was annulled by the retired military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida on July 1993 after the popular inconclusive June 12, 1993 Presidential election.
This annulment led to social dysfunction across the Southern states especially South Western Nigeria with social melee and loss of lives occasioned civil disturbances calling for restoration of the mandate of MKO Abiola the supposed winner of June 12 Presidential election.
It was on this premise and aftermath of the sudden death of the then military head of State General Sanni Abacha on June 8th, 1998 and that of Late MKO Abiola on July 1998 that brought in a renewed efforts to rebuild Nigeria which the political elites embraced and quickly found solutions one of which was having a South Western Nigeria as an elected Nigerian president in 1999.
The agitation by a group of elder statesmen who formed G34 that later metamorphosed into Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had late Architect Alex Ekwueme a former Vice President to Alhaji Shehu Shagari and some others while Pa Adesanya and late Bola Ige held sway with Alliance For Democracy AD and All Nigerian Peoples Party (APP) a dominant Northern Nigeria bases national party.
In fact, the political elites in Nigeria then decided to zone all presidential tickets to Southern Nigeria with South West where Abiola hailed from as beneficiaries of the arrangement. Hence All Peoples Party (APP) later merged with Alliance for Democracy (AD) that fielded Chief Olu Falae against Peoples Democratic Party-PDP Olusegun Obasanjo. Whereas AD/APP had as running mates Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi as PDP had Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who had already won a governorship election in his home state of Adamawa as governor-designate. Finally, PDP Olusegun Obasanjo won the presidential election with 18, 738, 154 popular votes representing 62. 78 percent of total votes cast while Chief Olu Falae came second with 11, 110, 287 popular votes representing 37.22 percent of total votes cast
With the single term arrangement for the South West as a condition for the paradigm shift in zoning for the Northern Nigeria to take it up in 2003.
But with the battle for supremacy by the then incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo who cajoled sitting governors to permit him to run for a second term as against the gentleman’s agreement for General Ibrahim Babangida to take over as a civilian political party candidate in 2003 but he General Ibrahim Badamosi Babagida (IBB), refused the plea by serving governors for him to contest against Olusegun Obasanjo. President Olusegun Obasanjo irrespective of the zoning arrangement attempted to change Nigeria’s Constitution so as to run for a 3rd term in office in 2007 without considering the zoning arrangement but he was resisted by democrats constituted by the then serving governors.
When President Obasanjo’s 3rd term agenda failed through the national Assembly refusal to amend the constitution, he quickly searched for his successor PDP in 2007 did not voluntarily vote for Late President Umaru Yar’ adua but southern governors such as Dr. Peter Odili was cruising home with victory at the PDP National Convention when suddenly Obasanjo presented the Katsina State governor as a PDP Presidential candidate with a South-South running mate as Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. In 2009 barely two years into that administration President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died while in office as doctrine of necessity was applied by the National assembly to have Vice President Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as President.
At this juncture, the first 4-year term of a Northern presidential candidate was not completed as in 2011 when a Northern candidate ought to have emerged upon consensus, the Southern politicians reneged on the zoning arrangement established by the founding fathers of PDP in 1999. And the incumbent President Jonathan benefited from that disruption of zoning formula of North/South rotation of the presidential ticket.
It is on record that in 2015 Presidential election the incumbent President Jonathan insisted on taking up PDP Presidential ticket against the seemingly agitation by Northern presidential materials.
Therefore looking at the above scenario in the zoning arrangement in Peoples Democratic Party-PDP it is a common knowledge that he who goes for equity should go with clean hands. South-South Zonal Women leader High Chief Dr Mrs. Aleruchi Toboulayefa Alamieyeseigha hereby calls on well-meaning democrats in Nigeria to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar the Waziri of Adamawa an experienced democrat and business man who had laid down his life and energy since the nascent democratic dispensation to usher in a stable Nigeria as he believes in One Nigeria as a bridge builder with no tribe and religious bigotry in his DNA.
If he Atiku Abubakar in 2003 relinquished the opportunity to grab the presidential ticket with the backing of the then serving governors it is incumbent on Nigerians to reciprocate now and use their Permanent Voters Cards to usher him in to serve Nigeria and unify this country with unimaginable opportunities that All Progressives Congress APC national Government had squandered like prodigal sons wont to do their fathers’ estate.
Atiku Abubakar has worked all his life serving humanity at different levels as a public officer in Nigerian Customs and Excise Service where he voluntarily retired to take up further service of his fatherland as a politician. Politics to him is a vehicle to rendering service to a larger population not minding his humanitarian and other philanthropic gestures which he has been rendering to Nigerians across ethnic and religious divide.
Atiku Abubakar’s cardinal agenda for Rescue Nigeria in 2023 remains a holistic turnaround in security architecture throughout Nigeria, free education to Nigerians, rebuilding the economy with less borrowing of loans to run the government; his promise to hand power over to Nigerian youths at the end of his tenure in office as a generational describing his administration as a political power transition to the Nigerian youths. High chief Dr.(Mrs.) Aleruchi Nice Alamieyeseigha therefore call on Nigerian youths to garb this opportunity go out there and obtain Permanent Voters Cards (PVC).
For Southern States of Nigeria, Mrs. Alamieyesiegha urged them to support Atiku Abubakar for sure he will outperform expectations as he had done as a serving Vice President with more than 18- official visitation to Rivers state from 1999 to 2007. He will turn around the energy sector as he was head of Economic Council from 1999 to 2007 where the telecommunications sector received a turnaround with the birth of GSM and its economic ripple effects providing jobs and micro-economic services to the grassroots.
He has promised to make the South-South seaports to perform optimally should you vote for him. To the women of Southern States of Nigeria, jobs and loans will be available for making the economy to recover and you shall have your husbands and children regain employment and businesses.
High Chief Dr. (Mrs.) Aleruchi Nice Tobouleyafa Alamieyesiegha is the South South Zonal Women Leader Atiku Abubakar Support Organization (ASO 2023)
