Zoning: Yar’Adua under pressure
From JACOB EDI, Abuja

There are indications that the recent zoning formula adopted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have put the newly inaugurated President Umar Musa Yar’Adua under pressure.
Accordingly, President Yar’Adua was headed towards convening a fresh national caucus of the party. The venue and date of meeting was not clear at the time of this report as President Yar’Adua is said to be getting set to travel to his home state, Katsina, for the weekend.

Presidency sources hinted Daily Sun that some members of the PDP, especially those from the South East, have expressed serious reservations over the zoning of the national chairman of the party to the South East.

At the time of this report, no fewer than four people have shown interest in taking over from Ahmadu Ali. They include incumbent PDP National Secretary, Ojo Maduekwe; two former presidential aspirants, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Gen Ike Nwachukwu as well as immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu.
Shortly before his departure, Obasanjo presided over the PDP national caucus meeting that reportedly zoned the seat of the national chairman of the party to the South East.

Yar’Adua, it was learnt, had argued that the South East deserves more than chairmanship of the PDP. Sources said he canvassed that the Speaker of the House of Representatives be zoned to the South East.

It was learnt that Yar’Adua wants to bring up the reservations of the South East before another national caucus meeting to look into the question of zoning again, with a view to restrategizing on the zoning formula.

One of the contenders to the post of the chairmanship of the party, Owelle Okorocha told Daily Sun that there was the need to re-consider the zoning arrangement that gives only the party chairmanship to the South East.

Insisting that he is eminently qualified to lead the party to greater heights by reconciling all the aggrieved members, Okorocha said the party chairmanship position has no constitutional role.
"If you say zoning the chairmanship to the South East is that they have given us something, then it’s not fair. As PDP chairman, you are talking about the Igbo in PDP. But with a position like Speaker of the House of Representatives, you are talking about the whole nation," he reasoned.

Okorocha, who came second in the PDP convention, said he has the national spread and acceptability to lead the party. He had served as a Special Adviser to former President Obasanjo on inter-party relation as well as coordinator, National Peace Forum.