National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus will most certainly be replaced before the 2023 general election.
This is as party bigwigs believe his position has become untenable following calls in some quarters for a Northerner to be chosen as national party chairman as agitations heighten for the party to choose a Southerner as presidential candidate of PDP in 2023.
According to reports, some top party leaders from the South insist on the party honouring an unwritten zoning agreement that has existed in the party since 1999.
Some party chieftains are said to be worried that Secondus and members of his National Working Committee (NWC) have not made their positions on zoning clear, a topic that is being hotly debated within the party ranks.
Meanwhile, many party leaders from the North are insisting that the PDP shelves any idea of zoning of the presidential ticket to any region so as to present a formidable candidate to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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But a top source within the party says the belief that the North is entirely against zoning is wrong.
“It is absolutely wrong to say northern PDP leaders are against the zoning arrangement or are opposed to the party producing a southerner as presidential candidate.
“The PDP is a unique party and as you can see over the years, we adhere strictly to zoning. The south should be allowed to produce the next presidential candidate. What we are saying however is that the north should also be considered fort the leadership of the NWC as a way of balancing the equation properly.
“That is how it has been done since 1999,” The Nation quoted the unnamed source as saying.
According to the source, Northern party leaders would meet pro-zoning elements especially from the South to demand that the national chairmanship position be returned to the North at the next National Convention of the party if the South must produce the presidential candidate in 2023.
He noted that this would deny Secondus a second term in office.
“This has nothing to do with his performance as our national chairman. Rather, it has to do with our decision to prevent the PDP from sliding into another internal crisis that will destroy our chances of returning to the presidency in 2023.
“We have examined the issues and we have come to the realization that if we listen to ourselves and return to the ways of our founding fathers, there is no issue we cannot resolve. The zoning issue is not just about the presidency as far as PDP is concerned. We usually use zoning to balance power in the party since 199.
“Our position is not that Prince Secondus should quit his position today. No. What we are saying is that at the next convention, which will come years before the convention that will produce the presidential candidate for 2023; the south should show readiness to produce the presidential candidate by allowing the north to produce the next national chairman of the party.
“Once we all agree on this, it will not be difficult for us all to agree to the fact that the zoning formula makes it mandatory for the south to grab the presidential ticket,” the source, said to be a senior member of the National Assembly, said.