The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has dismissed the zoning allegation made against the party by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
Naijaonpoint reports that in a post on 𝕏, Keyamo claimed that the ADC was scared of zoning its presidential ticket like other parties because the party belongs to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The minister said, “The ADC is scared to clearly ZONE its Presidential ticket, like the other major parties (PDP and APC) have done, because the party belongs to one man called Atiku Abubakar @atiku.
“It is the EXACT corner that Atiku pushed PDP to in 2023 that ADC now finds itself – the inability to zone its Presidential ticket.
Responding via a statement, the ADC spokesman said Keyamo’s position on zoning was incorrect.
He recounted how the APC failed to respect zoning in picking its presidential flagbearer in 2014, the selection of the Senate President in 2015, and the fielding of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2023.
He said a party with such history should not be castigating another.
Abdullahi said, “You may be aware (or not) that at the beginning of the controversy over who should be Senate President after the 2015 presidential election, the initial decision by the party leadership was to zone the number three position to the North Central.
“However, when it looked like Dr Saraki was going to emerge, the ACN bloc, led by Baba Akande and Asiwaju BAT (now President), argued that zoning was a PDP thing and was alien to progressive politics, which they claimed to represent. It was on that basis that they backed Ahmed Lawan from Yobe (North East).”
He added, “That would not be a baseless argument, considering that the presidential primaries that produced PMB appeared to have been thrown open, irrespective of zoning.
“This was why Rochas Okorocha (4th, 264 votes) was able to contest alongside Buhari, Kwankwaso, @Atiku, and Sam Nda-Isaiah. This pattern was repeated in 2023, when the primary election was contested by Ahmad Lawan (NE), Ahmed Sani (NW), Yahaya Bello (NC), alongside southern candidates.
“And, like 2019, APC simply zoned to the incumbent in 2027, and not to any region.
“Now, talking about zoning as a mechanism for strengthening national unity, you would agree with me (hopefully) that this also includes religious balancing, which has proved to be even more fundamental to our national cohesion than geographical considerations.
“Yet, APC put a knife to this fragile rope of national unity when it settled for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“In doing that, APC showed that they had no time for balancing religious sensibilities as long as, in their calculations, it was a same-faith ticket that would deliver victory.
“And if they change it or keep it in 2027, it would not be because they suddenly suffered a pang of conscience, it would be a matter of political strategy.”