ZONING:JONATHAN IGNORANT OF PDP CONSTITUTION--- Turaki Vanguard

As reactions continue to trail Monday's statement by President Goodluck Jonathan over the controversial PDP Zoning policy, the Campaign Organisation of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Turaki Vanguard has condemned the president's statement saying, the president is ignorant of the PDP constitution.

Eze said that the statement was an attempt to playdown an issue that is very important to the stability of the polity,adding, ''to us, we see that statement as either a ploy to down play a very sensitive issue that bounds this country together or a glaring exhibition of ignorance of PDP's constitution on zoning by Mr. President''.

The statement stated that the position of President Jonathan that he is ignorant of the contents of Article 7(2)(c) of the PDP that brought him into power that states: “In pursuance of the principles of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels, from councillor to presidency.

” Mr. President has shown that he is obviously not attuned to the articles of his party's constitution; a party he is acclaimed to be its leader. We call on the National Assembly and indeed all well meaning Nigerians to prevail on Mr. President to desist from making such unguarded statements that is capable of heating up the already tensed polity in

Nigeria,'' it appealed

The statement added that Such remarks from the President if not checked, are capable of destroying the socio-political fabric of Nigeria with dire consequences.

''As Nigeria marks her 50th of nationhood, the labour of our heroes past should not be in vain and all the collective efforts of our past nationalists both living and death must be respected by the new leaders of the country who would not be ready to sacrifice the wellbeing of the nation on the alter of selfish ambition.'', Eze advised.

The vanguard noted that President Jonathan in 2002 attended the expanded caucus of the PDP meeting as the then Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State in which he was

47th person in the list of attendance voted out of 51 persons present

and voted for the retention of zoning formula in the PDP; that there

should be rotational order between the north and south.

'For the same same person to make the statement credited to him only shows that this country is in trouble. We expect therefore, the National Assembly to study this stand of Mr. President which is capable of not only truncating our nascent democracy but put the nation in an unprecedented crisis that may disintegrate the nation and and caution him '', the statement further adised. the constitution for his

selfish ambition.
The Vanguard commended Alh. Atiku Abubakar for intervening and assisting

the flood victims in the recent Sokoto flood disaster by supplying hundreds of bags of grains and other relief materials to the affected flood victims.(END)