Aminu Tambuwal Ceed To Resign in Two Years/ Nigeria Former President Chief Mr.Olusegun Obasanjo

Tambuwal should resign in 2 yrs – Obasanjo

 The Nigeria Former President Chief Mr.Olusegun Obasanjo requested the Mr.Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and other,  PDP principal officers in the House of Representatives to resign from office in two years to allow the rectification of the party’s zoning policy truncated by the present set of officers.
Obasanjo who is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP told party elders
at the BOT meeting last night that the violation of the zoning principle was a fundamental breach of the party’s constitution which he warned that if not rectified could eventually destroy the party and other national values such as federal character.

Among his hearers yesterday at the meeting which took place at the presidential villa was President Dr Goodluck Jonathan who he said was elected on the principle of zoning just as late President Umaru Yar‘Adua and himself, Mr.Olusegun Obasanjo.

Zoning is basic party policy :

While noting that it was a basic policy of the party to distribute the six major political offices of President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the party among the six geopolitical zones, Obasanjo described as untenable the situation where one zone would hold two offices at the expense of others. He as such said that no zone should be “insulted by any offer of an unacceptable substitute.

President Obasanjo’s emotive speech followed last June’s decision of the House of Representatives to elect Speaker Tambuwal from the Northwest at the expense of the zoning principle of the PDP which had reserved the position for the Southwest geopolitical zone.

He equally described as disturbing, the fact that the party’s chosen candidate scored less than 25% of the votes in the PDP controlled House, a development he said demanded soul searching. He equally described as indefensible suggestions that the Southwest was overlooked because of the PDP’s recent poor electoral showing in the zone as he noted that the Southwest and Northwest had worse electoral showing prior to the zoning of the presidency to the zones in 2003 and 2007.
Speaker Tambuwal who is attending the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA conference in London was not at last night’s meeting.

Noting his responsibility as the chairman of the BOT, a body he described as the conscience of the party which should ordinarily keep the party in line with its fundamental objectives, the former President said:
“I, as the Chairman of the BOT decided to point the attention of the Party and the Government to this issue not because it affects the zone which by accident of birth I come from, but because it has great and grave implication for the future of the PDP as a political Party, the PDP Government and, by extension, for the country.
If the situation is left unattended and uncorrected, we may take it that the pillar on which PDP stands is mortally impaired. A bad precedent would have been created and, in due course more will follow and, before long, the edifice will collapse.

We can save the edifice by correcting what has gone wrong or by deciding to formally jettison zoning, rotation and, by extension, federal character. After all, other political parties have not instituted it in their constitution or be so vocal about it. it is better we jettison than observance by breach.”
Noting the historical role of zoning in the PDP, Obasanjo said:
“Mr. President it is that policy that brought me up as President in 1999, and brought President Yar`Adua up in 2007 and you up in 2011. It has given us some element of  predictability, stability and order,” the former President submitted.

“Since the beginning of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, six offices are known to be zoned and/or rotated by PDP among the six geo-political zones, i.e.
President, Vice-President by election and normally followed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by election at the National Assembly, but in line with the direction of the Party, followed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by appointment and finally the Chairman of the Party by appointment confirmed by election. Until now, on no account have two of these offices gone to one zone.

It has been so carefully observed and kept sacrosanct. Even when the personality holding the office has to change, the holder remains in the zone to which the office is zoned. To move away from this hallowed convention and practice is a very bad and dangerous precedent.
The earlier we can correct it, the better. Again, the stability that PDP has enjoyed in spite of many odds is substantially based on the sense of belonging engendered by the inclusiveness that the zoning of those offices entails and signifies. And no zone should be insulted by any offer of an unacceptable substitute.”
Dismissing claims of the party’s poor showing in the Southwest as a justification, Obasanjo said yesterday.