Yar’Adua’s death caused zoning confusion, says Kwankwaso

A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said the death of former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua created the political confusion surrounding power rotation between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

 

Kwankwaso stated this during an interview on Arise Television on Monday while defending the NDC’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South.

 

According to the former Kano State governor, the party adopted Southern zoning as a way of resolving lingering arguments over presidential rotation.

 

“We believe the best way to go now is to take it to the South so that we can eliminate the confusion, the confusion that emanated from the death of our brother, our friend, Umar Musa Yar’adua. That actually introduced the confusion into the system,” he said.

 

Yar’Adua, who was elected president in 2007, died in office in May 2010 before completing his first term. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan from the South, subsequently completed the tenure and later won the 2011 presidential election.

 

Kwankwaso acknowledged that political actors interpret the zoning arrangement differently depending on their perspective.

 

“One can argue that from 1999 to date, the South has done more years than the North. But it depends on how it suits you,” he stated.

 

He explained that the NDC adopted the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as the appropriate reference point for zoning calculations.

 

“What worked now is counting from Buhari. Anybody from the South on that side of argument would say that Buhari had eight years and the South is now doing its first term. In the next one year or so, it will be four years,” he said.

 

Kwankwaso revealed that Northern politicians who recently joined the NDC accepted the zoning arrangement without resistance in the interest of party unity.

 

“Almost all of us joining from the North, we accepted. There is no point in fighting,” he added.

 

He, however, stressed that the larger issue confronting Nigeria was not regional power rotation but the quality of leadership available to citizens.

 

“What is key now is not presidency from the North or from the South. What is key is to have quality leadership, people who are enthusiastic, determined and committed to give the country the leadership it deserves,” he said.

 

Kwankwaso and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi formally joined the NDC on May 3 after leaving the African Democratic Congress amid internal disagreements.

 

At its national convention in Abuja, the NDC officially adopted Southern zoning for its 2027 presidential ticket.