S'WEST CAN'T PRODUCE PDP CHAIRMAN, SAYS WAMPANA

National Vice Chairman, North-east of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged his counterparts in the party from the South-west geo-political zone to stop agitating for the slot of the national chairman of the party as the zone did not vote for the PDP in the last general elections.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, Senator Paul Wampana noted that the only zone that voted for PDP that has been left out in the power sharing arrangement in the country was the North-east geo-political zone. In his opinion, the South-west only voted for the PDP presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and should look up to him, not the party, for compensation.

'Everybody knows in this country that South-west didn't vote PDP but the South-west voted for the president. Please, they must be given the credit for voting for the president and it follows that when the president is looking at how to run his government, he can't forget about South-west.

'They voted for him, he became president, he can't ignore them and even we in the PDP who had put up Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as candidate, despite the fact that they voted for a different political party, we are grateful to them for having voted for our own presidential candidate, thereby making the PDP have the presidency.

'I am saying that the president must always remember the people of the South-west when he is running his government because they voted for him.'

Wampana told journalists that the North-east was not in any way competing with the South-west for the leadership of the PDP as it had been zoned to the former by the PDP NEC. 'The party must also reward zones that voted for the party. Is that wrong? It is like the proverbial saying that you can't reap where you didn't sow. That's all I am saying; that people shouldn't ignore the fact that the North-east voted for PDP and as a leader of PDP in the North-east, we voted for PDP massively. So, my zone deserves to head PDP.

'The people of South-west voted for the president, they deserve to reap the benefit of their voting from the president. If South-east got away with what it got, we know that South-east voted PDP; if North-west got vice president and speaker, we know they voted PDP; the only zone that voted PDP and it is empty, that is, the North-east. So, let us not be overwhelmed by sentiment, let us be governed by reason. In politics you don't go fighting, abusing, insulting people agitating over what doesn't appeal to reason.'