A former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on Friday received his Provisional Clearance Certificate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential screening Committee led by Senator David Mark.
Fayose disclosed this shortly after leaving Legacy House.
He also said that he would emerge as the party’s standard bearer for the presidential election in 2023.
Stating his position on zoning, Fayose insisted that for posterity’s sake, PDP must zone its presidential ticket in order not to cause confusion in the future.
According to him, even if the party wanted everyone to contest, it should officially make a pronouncement and zone it to the Southern part of Nigeria.
He recalled that in 1999, the presidential ticket was zoned to the south when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae were in the race, but Abubakar Rimi still contested within the ambit of the Constitution.
“But the party must remember that whatever we do today, will speak for us or stand against us tomorrow.
“The system is not functioning in our country; the institutions are not functioning, that is why we have all these problems.
“We must be courageous enough to say this is going to South, and If you want to contest, the Nigerian constitution still gives you the leverage, the opportunity to do so. I support zoning this time to southern Nigeria.”
Fayose said that with the incumbent president from the north, it was only logical for the south to produce the next president, saying this was not about the party, but about Nigeria’s best interest and stability.
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