Jigawa guber race: ANPP has no right to enforce zoning
By ABDULLAHI D. ABDULLAHI, Group News Editor

THE National Executive Council (NEC) of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has no right to decide for Jigawa state, whether to zone the candidature for governorship in the forthcoming elections, as it is undemocratic, illegal null and void.
One of the ANPP gubernatorial aspirants, Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu made the assertion in an interview with some Triumph editors yesterday, stressing that ‘’zoning is totally unacceptable to us because it will further polarize our state.’’
According to him, Section 10(3B) of the ANPP constitution stated: ‘’All elective offices both party and public in the state level shall be subjected to rotation amongst the senatorial districts in the state or any other job of political configuration as may be decided by the state congress or state executive committee of the party from time to time.’’
He therefore stressed that going by the constitutional provision, zoning is the prerogative of the party which some two weeks ago it rejected.
He revealed that his movement also did not give much emphasis on zoning or emiratism, ‘’we do not encourage zoning or sectionalism but consistency. The best leader can emerge from all the emirates or zone.’’
On his chances of winning the seat if eventually he gets the party’s mandate, Hon. Aliyu pointed out that he is the candidate to beat in Jigawa eventhough ‘’some undemocratic forces,’’ are bent on preventing his victory.
He noted that attempt in the past to recall him failed when there was a referendum, sponsored by the PDP government and Jigawa state government, for which according to him, over N800 million was expended just for one federal constituency to be recalled.
Hon. Adamu however, expressed skepticism about INEC’s capability to conduct free and fair election and that was because the forces after him connived with INEC to conduct referendum which he said failed woefully.
On his decision to run for governorship seat, the lawmaker disclosed that it was people’s decision that after the referendum persuaded him to vie for the seat in appreciation of his struggle to consolidate the party in the state despite the odds.
In another development, Hon. Adamu has ruled out any alliance with the AC going by the situation on ground, noting that there is big problem because Vice President Atiku Abubakar has vowed on several occasions that he would not step down for Buhari.
‘’If AC presidential candidate is not willing to step down for my candidate who is better, because rightly or wrongly Atiku is being accused of misdeed and nobody has accused my candidate of any misdeed, so it is fair for him to step down for Buhari.
‘’But if Atiku is going all over the place to say Buhari should step down for him, we shall not allow Gen. Buhari to step down for anybody because we believe he is the best candidate in Nigeria as at today. You cannot compare him with PDP candidate whose local government’s funds are being subject of investigation by EFCC.
Buhari was a governor, minister of petroleum resources, a head of state, and chairman of PTF but was not accused of misappropriating a naira. Nobody has ever had this opportunity than Buhari, yet he did not steal,’’ Farouk remarks.
According to him, the accord is crumbling at the national level and the only way for it to work is for Atiku to step down for Buhari and that applies with Jigawa state.