Zoning: Northern Factions Move to Close Ranks

Written by This Day Friday, 06 August 2010

As zoning continues to divide the core North and Northern minorities in the build-up to the 2011 elections, the pro and anti-zoning forces in the region have begun meeting to forge a common front.

The meeting resolved to push the issue of zoning and power rotation back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to "consider and resolve expeditiously", they said in the communique.
They also resolved to air their differences with "mutual respect" and "harmony". The communique contained only two paragraphs.
Former military President Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Finance Minister Malam Adamu Ciroma and others who are pro-zoning as well as pioneer National Chairman of the PDP Chief Solomon Lar and former Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana among others canvassing the jettisoning of zoning met last night in Abuja to harmonize the position of the North on the contentious issue.

PDP will, however, on Thursday, August 12 hold its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to approve the date of the mini national convention for the amendment of the party’s constitution and take other decisions.
THISDAY learnt the meeting of the pro and anti-zoning forces in the North, which was still on at press time, is aimed at ensuring a harmonized position of the Northern states on zoning.
One of the conveners of the G-20 Northern Political Summit, Gana, said last week that Ciroma had written to his group over the need for a meeting and that the group had accepted the challenge. He said there was the need for both the proponents and antagonists of zoning to meet.

Yesterday’s, meeting, a source said, came on the heels of the division, which the zoning controversy is causing between the core North and other minorities from the North-central and North-eastern states.
According to the source, “the North has never been divided on any issue like this zoning issue. In the past, the North was sharply divided with the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and the Middle Belt Congress (MBC) taking different positions. We talk of the NPC and MBC in the past, but it has never been like this.

“Basically, we want to employ dialogue with all our brothers in the North, because if we keep silent, by the time this zoning controversy is settled, we shall be poles apart from unity and this is not in our overall interest.”
“We met to nib in the bud what may come in the way of a religious acrimony and tribal backlash,” the source explained.

As part of the meeting, Lar, Gana and other members of the G-20 had met to harmonize their position ahead of the meeting.
Their meeting took place in a private location in Abuja . THISDAY gathered the meeting was attended by who is who within the ethnic minorities in the North.
Yesterday’s meeting was at the instance of the Northern leaders led by both Babangida and Ciroma.

Those in attendance at the meeting included Ciroma, Lar, Gana M.D. Yusufu, Yahya Kwande, Lawal Kaita, Tanko Yakassai, Magaji Dambatta, Barnabas Gemade, Hassan Adamu, Shehu Malami, Isaiah Balat, Ibrahim Ida and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Senator Bala Mohammed.
Meanwhile, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) has fixed August 12 for the party’s NEC meeting.

According to an impeccable source who spoke with THISDAY, “the NEC meeting will consider a proposal from members of the party to throw open the presidential nomination ticket of the party to all party members in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The source explained that all thing being equal,  the constitution of the party, especially Section 7 subsection 2 (c) will be amended to reflect the respect of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians to seek election at all levels without any inhibition.

“It is therefore after the NEC meeting that the date of the national convention of the party slated for September would be fixed and the party would then release its guidelines for the election of its flag bearers for the 2011 general election,” the source said.
A day after the South-south endorsed him for the 2011 presidential race, governors of the 19 Northern states under the aegis of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) on July 27 rose from their meeting in Kaduna, saying President Goodluck Jonathan is free to run.

The governors failed to take any definite stand on zoning at their meeting held at the Government House, Kaduna .
But they took a vote and ten of them voted for zoning, insisting that it is the turn of the North to produce the president in 2011.
Seven of them voted against zoning, freeing the race to all Nigerians including President Jonathan while one governor abstained from voting.