2019 Elections: Makarfi, Ali disagree on PDP zoning

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali and the caretaker chairman Ahmed Makarfi, have taken different stances on the party’s zoning for 2019 presidency.

PDP has zoned its chairmanship slot to the South and the presidential ticket reserved for aspirants from the North.

The party leaders, at a consultative meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, appealed to aspirants to various elective positions not to violate the zoning arrangement, saying the party paid dearly for such violations in the 2015 presidential election.

However, Ali argued in favour of electing the next chairman from the South-West geopolitical zone.

“It’s either we choose our next national chairman from the Southwest or we forget about PDP”, adding that the zone had yet to occupy the chairmanship position since the formation of the party in 1998.

“We must be ready to ensure that at the convention, the main issue, which is the national chairmanship of the party, is well handled. If we don’t vote the South-West, we can as well forget the PDP,” Ali said.

Makarfi restated the commitment of the party to respect the various zoning arrangements.

“The Port Harcourt convention decisions remain valid and one of the decisions taken at that convention was zoning. But microzoning does not have a binding effect.

“If a position is zoned to the North and you are from the North and you come to buy form, we will sell for you. Don’t forget that people will not get tired of taking the PDP to court,” Makarfi said.