Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal has advised the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to focus on strategies that can give it victory in 2023 instead of concentrating on the zoning of its presidential ticket
He gave the advice during a meeting with members of Conference of Speakers in Abuja.
Tambuwal, who is in the race for the PDP ticket, declared that a political party that is in opposition should play down zoning and concentrate on how it can gather as many votes as possible, taking into cognisance the voting population of the various zones.
He said the PDP can talk of sharing power after it has won the general election.
“PDP, I have a question. Are we looking for zoning or winning? Now with due respect to what I’m going to say, I do not mean any offence, see my leader Olisah Metuh I’m going to use your state as a reference point.
“And with due respect to the people of Plateau, I’ll use your state as another reference point.
“We had an election in Anambra State. The governor of Anambra State won the election with 112,000 votes. The person next to him, the PDP candidate, secured about 53,000 votes. The third, the APC candidate, had 24,000 votes. The fourth YYP candidate had about 20,000 votes. Put together in that state election, governorship, we had about 220,000 votes in between four political parties.
“Jos federal constituency in Plateau State where PDP won, the PDP candidate had about 40,000, PRP had 37,000 then APC 26,000. If you add this, it is close to 100,000 in a Federal constituency elections.
“That is why after the election I appealed to PDP to look at these elections, and be studying elections, and by-elections, as we progress towards 2023.”
He added that it was strategic thinking that gave APC victory in 2015.
“APC took their ticket to Katsina in 2015 where the last president of PDP, Yar’Adua, died in office in 2010. Five years later, APC, out of strategic thinking with Bola Tinubu and the rest of them.
“I was part of it. We said we are looking for how to move, we must get power before we share it.
“We deliberately took APC ticket to Katsina to give to President Muhammadu Buhari. Yes. Atiku contested, Rabiu Musa contested. And Sam Nda Isaiah and Rochas Okorocha, contested. But we knew where we’re going because we were determined to win.
“Let me tell you had APC given that ticket to someone from the south, in particular South South, we couldn’t have won.
“Go and check the election results of 2007, Buhari had 11 million votes before in 2003. But in 2007, the 7 million votes against Yar’Adua because they are from the same Katsina.
“Now, this is for PDP. In the south, as of today, PDP is in eight government houses. APC is also in eight government houses, leaving one; Anambra. In the north., APC is in 14 government houses, PDP is in five government houses. And they have the President.
“So I’m giving you this analysis so that together, as leaders of our party, who are working towards winning election, not zoning, not winning tickets.
“Yes, we can share tickets and everybody can take his piece and go to his zone. But you must plan to win election. That’s the reality of it. It’s not anybody’s making.”