Former Kano State governor and chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said the party decided to zone its presidential ticket to the South in the interest of fairness, equity, and political stability.
Kwankwaso made the remarks on Monday while speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme.
He said he was pleased to have joined the NDC, describing members of the party as “like minds” committed to addressing Nigeria’s political challenges.
According to him, the party leadership, including former Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, collectively agreed that the presidency should remain in the South for the next four years before rotating back to the North.
Kwankwaso said northern members who joined the party accepted the arrangement, noting that the decision was necessary to address lingering controversies surrounding power rotation in the country.
He also linked the current debate over zoning to political developments following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
According to him, although some Nigerians believe the presidency should return to the North, the NDC considered it more appropriate to support a southern presidency at this time to reduce political tension and maintain balance in the system.
Kwankwaso said: “Let me say that I’m so happy that I joined this party, the NDC. I believe so far, so good, we are doing well.
“I met people that I can call like minds, ranging from the leader of the party, Senator Dickson, former governor of Bayelsa State, and of course, Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State, and many other leaders who are today in our party.
“I believe that many more are coming. And I’m happy to say that right from day one, we sat down together, looked at the situation on the ground in this country, and decided to take some major decisions, including what you just mentioned, zoning the presidency to the South for four years. And of course, after that, the presidency will rotate to the North.
“We are very happy that we are loyal party members wherever we find ourselves. We realized even before we joined the party that the party was contemplating zoning the presidential ticket to the South for many obvious reasons.
“Therefore, almost all of us joining from the North accepted it because, as it stands now, people are debating. Some say it should come to the North, while others say it should go to the South. But from our own end, we believe the best way to go now is to take it to the South so that we can eliminate the confusion that emanated from the death of our brother, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which actually introduced confusion into the system.
“Even though, in a way, one can argue that from 1999 to date, the South has spent more years in power than the North.”
