Atiku declares bid Wednesday as Arewa group vows to resist northern aspirants

Atiku Abubakar, 

 Party has final say on zoning, says Peter Obi

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, will officially declare his intent to run for the 2023 presidential election on Wednesday.

A statement by the Atiku Media Office in Abuja, yesterday, said the resolve followed several months of consultations with stakeholders across the country and in the diaspora, as well as all organs of the PDP.

The event, which will have in attendance Atiku’s friends, associates, political leaders, party faithful and supporters, will take place at International Conference Centre, Abuja.

THIS came as a northern group, Arewa Coalition for Rotational Presidency (ACRP), advised politicians from the region to shelve the idea of seeking the presidency in 2023.

The group vowed it would “practically rise” and mobilise against all presidential candidates from the North that dare contest under any political party.

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In a statement jointly signed by ACRP Chairman Abdullahi Biu and Secretary Hamza Malumfashi, the coalition said: “In the interest of peace, equity and justice, more so, that the North has been in power for eight years, the idea of the North even contesting the highly exalted position of President should be immediately jettisoned.

“All those that picked nomination forms, especially from the PDP, should step down if they are true democrats. As a group of democrats from the 19 northern states, we strongly believe in the principle of equity and fairness as a panacea for peace, progress and, thus, our resolve supports rotation of power to our brothers in the South.

“It is against this background that we are advising all political parties, especially the two major parties, APC and PDP, to field only southern candidates.”

BUT a former governor of Anambra State and vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, Peter Obi, has said the party will decide the zone that will produce a flag bearer, taking into consideration, factors such as competence, equity and fairness.

Obi made the declaration during an interaction with newsmen in Minna, Niger State, as he continued consultation across the country.

He argued that whatever the party decides on zoning will be in the interest of all members.

According to him, since the party is supreme, its decision on matters would be binding on all.