2023 Presidency: PDP faces looming defections in South-East

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By By Johnbosco Agbakwuru  & Dirisu Yakubu

AHEAD of the  2023 Presidential elections, some prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from South East geopolitical zone have threatened to dump the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, if the presidential ticket was not ceded to the zone.

The PDP leaders also vowed not to take the vice presidency position from the party, saying that anyone from the zone that accepts the vice presidential ticket will be tagged an enemy of the zone.

A former governor from the zone who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said that South-East has been faithful to the PDP since 1998 despite what happened to the late former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme at the convention in Jos.

He said: “If the PDP refused to zone the 2023 Presidential ticket to the South-East, we will be left with no other option than to leave the party.

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“You know that the APC had promised to consider zoning its presidential candidate for 2023 to South- East if President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected in 2019. You also know that the President is an upright man. We have the conviction that he will ensure that the APC cedes the position to the zone.

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“Some people are already mobilizing for #EndVP protest in South-East and we are going to ensure that we make resources available to that effect. It’s going to be a collective thing. And I am assuring you that the country will not regret having a President of South-East extraction come 2023.”