Ahead of the 2023 general elections, aspirants vying for the office of the governor from the Northern Taraba Zone have been called to close ranks and work assiduously in harmony, eschew politics of bitterness, and ensure mass mobilization that is devoid of rancor for the success to ensure that one of them clinch PDP Ticket in the State.
The Chairman, Elders Forum of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Taraba Northern Zone, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Musa made the call during a Press Conference held on Monday 14th March 2022 in Jalingo.
Musa, who was the pioneer Taraba State PDP Chairman in 1998, also implored all atatutory and ad-hoc delegates from the zone and indeed the central and southern zones, participating in the party nomination exercise to always refer to the rotational governorship arrangement agreed upon ahead of 2023 Election and vote only for any northern Taraba aspirant of their
choice.
He said the forum has observed the increasing disquiet and continuous onslaught on the
sensitivity of loyal members of the Party, particularly those that are the founding fathers and kept faith with the Party since its formation twenty-three (23) years ago, occasioned by the wild allegations making the rounds about some ulterior plans to jettison the rotation of governorship arrangement established by the state chapter of the party.
Musa added that “while it may be convenient to wave the allegations as spurious as they come, the Northern Zone Elders Forum is deeply worried about the implications of silence on this matter which fast causing disaffection among members of the PDP and unnecessarily overheating the polity with all the attendant consequences on the success of the Party in the forthcoming 2023 Elections.”
“Taking a queue from the famous quote by American President, Thomas Jefferson, that “evil triumphs when good men do nothing”, the forum decided to step forward and do something.
“Viewing these allegations as
ill-motivated handiworks of ‘agent provocateur’ and moles within the PDP who are bend on reversing the twenty-three years’ success story that the PDP in Taraba State has become unrivaled by any other states in the entire northern part of Nigeria,” Said Musa.
According to him, the Forum has resolved to draw the attention of the leadership of the party in the state to what it called “uncanny and sinister motives of certain elements within the PDP to cause disaffection among members and undermine the party by attempting to jettison the already established arrangement, which senior stakeholders, members of the State and National Assembly were signatories.”
Alhaji Abdulrazaq Musa noted that the zoning facilitated the election of Governor Darius Ishaku in 2015 and his re-election in 2019 foreclosing the party’s ticket to all aspirants from any zone other than the south, including the immediate former Governor of the State.
However, the Northern Taraba Elders Forum pledged its loyalty to the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku, and acknowledged his remarkable strides in the development of the State, while they prayed that his successor will continue to build on the structures put in place.
“We acknowledged and appreciate the exemplary and a wonderful
demonstration of selflessness, fairness, solidarity, equity, and togetherness
exhibited recently by certain Groups from Southern and Central Zones clling on the Party to demonstrate integrity and respect the laid-down arrangement.” Musa concluded.
Our Correspondent observed that representatives of all the elders in PDP from Northern Taraba Zone including the leader of Taraba Northern Select Group and former Speaker, Taraba State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Simon Shimpu was at the conference.