Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has appealed to the All Progressive Congress (APC) to zone the Presidential ticket to a candidate from the Southern part of Nigeria.
The Governor disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement, titled, “Our Party, APC, Must Tread The Path Of Equity” in Akure, the state capital, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
He also revealed that the leadership of the party ensured that the principle of rotational representation guided its decision at the just-concluded convention.
What the governor is saying
Akeredolu said, “Our party just elected officers on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political calculus.
“All lovers of peace and freedom must do everything to eschew tendencies which may predispose them to taking decisions which promote distrust and lead to a crisis, the end of which nobody may be able to predict, adding that the Party leadership “ensured that the principle of rotational representation guided its decision at the just-concluded convention.”
He stated that while the party chairmanship position had gone to the North and all other offices have been filled, he said that “It is very expedient that we avoid self-inflicted crises before the general elections” as “It is the turn of the Southern part of the country to produce the next President.
- “The party leadership should have no difficulty in making pronouncement on this very important issue, just as it has fixed various fees for the purchase of forms.
- “This must be done without delay. The principle of Federal Character is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended. It will be disingenuous for anyone to argue against rotation at this period.
- “We must not keep our party men and women guessing on the position of the leadership of the party. This is the time to weigh in and take control of the process.
- “No statement must suggest, even remotely, that the party harbours certain sentiments which may predispose it to consider throwing the contest open.
- “This is certainly not the time for equivocation. Equity Dictates That We Take A Stand,” Akeredolu added.
