Bode George: PDP will be defeated in 2023 if it doesn’t zone presidential ticket to south

Bode George, chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the party will be “roundly defeated” in the 2023 presidential election if zoning is jettisoned.

The PDP is yet to make a decision on which region of the country will produce the party’s 2023 presidential candidate.

The development has spurred polarising opinions among stakeholders of the party, with some backing the zoning of the presidential  slot to the south while others are calling for the ticket to be thrown open to all regions of the country.

Speaking in a chat with Arise TV on Tuesday, George warned that failure to zone the PDP presidential ticket means the party is “looking for serious trouble” in 2023.

He said the PDP must “embrace equity, justice and fairness”, adding that throwing the presidential ticket open will “be doing incalculable damage to the psychological minds of the majority of people who are not card-carrying members of the party”.

“If the party decides that, I can emphatically say we are looking for serious trouble and we will be roundly defeated. A warning shot and a good lesson for us to think about,” the PDP chieftain said. 

“Let’s think about how this country can grow. Turn by turn Nigeria limited, what’s wrong in doing that. Like I said, it’s not a 100 metres dash race but a continuum. Let there be equity, justice and fairness. 

“Let’s not go through that route because we will be doing incalculable damage to the psychological minds of the majority of people who are not card-carrying members of the party.”