Amid the controversies over where the ruling All Progressives Congress might zone its presidential ticket for the 2023 election, a chieftain of the party and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has said the founding fathers of the party won’t speak on the zoning arrangement until 2021.
He said nine among those of them who founded the APC were still in the party and that they would speak at the appropriate time whether or not there was an agreement on the zoning of the presidential ticket of the party for the 2023 election.
He said, “Nine of us are still in the APC. I can’t speak on the issue now. Most of us agreed that we are going to speak next year – from (Bola) Tinubu to Chief (Bisi) Akande, Chief Olusegun Osoba, myself; Tom Ikimi, Yusuf Ali; Ogbonnaya Onu; Danjuma Goje and Senator Wamakko.”
We will speak next year after we would have done the APC caucus meeting on it. Caucus will agree that we speak on it publicly.”
Recent opposing claims by foundation members of the APC over an alleged gentleman’s agreement for a southern candidate to succeed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in 2023 has been causing apprehension within the ruling party, Sunday PUNCH learnt.
Three major opposition political parties, Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressives Change came together and were later joined by a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and other smaller groups to form the All Progressives Congress in 2014.
They were later joined by a group of aggrieved members of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party under the platform of the New PDP.
It was gathered that fears of a possible decision by northern APC leaders to renege on the 2014 gentleman’s understanding on zoning led to the recent comment by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola SAN, for the party to honour the gentleman’s agreement.
Fashola said, “The constitution that sets up the climate of political parties’ formation does not prescribe zoning. The truth is that what makes an agreement specification is the honour in which it is made, not whether it is written.
