TICKET BELONGS TO NORTH NOT YAR'ADUA – KANTI BELLO

Senate Majority Chief Whip, Mahmud Kanti Bello, described the decision of both the PDP BoT and NEC on zoning as a deception.

The senator represents Katsina North District at the National Assembly particularly faulted claims that Jonathan would by the decision of the party complete Yar'Adua's two-term tenure if the latter were alive.

According to him, 'nobody gave Yar'Adua any mandate till 2015. The mandate we gave him was till 2011. That was what he campaigned for, and after he died, Jonathan is now completing it. That was why we (Senate) came up with the doctrine of necessity to preserve that ticket.

'But the issue of zoning is about the North not Yar'Adua.

The South has done eight years through Obasanjo and it is the turn of the North is to do its own eight years. They are missing the argument; zoning belongs to the north not Yar'Adua. Who told them that we would have fielded Yar'Adua to complete our last four years or that Yar'Adua would have picked Jonathan for a second term?

'The mandate belongs to the North and I don't see how Jonathan can complete the mandate of the North, except they want to tell us that Jonathan is now a northerner. I know some people like Professor Jerry Gana can spin anything. We will be waiting for them to sell us that. But I can tell you Jonathan cannot complete North's tenure. It is a northerner that can complete the tenure of the North.

'I have nothing against the President, but some people around him are not telling him the truth. The implication of what the NEC and the BoT said is that there is a law in PDP but you can break the law because you are on the seat. Is that good for a President of a whole nation to break the law? They are deceiving Jonathan and he too is allowing them to deceive him.

'What they should have done was to politely tell him, sir, we are sorry, we have a rule to follow. You will have to wait till 2015 to contest. But they are deceiving him. We will wait and see,' the lawmaker fumed.