Former Senate President, and the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, Dr. Adolphus Wabara, has warned that PDP might get a protest vote in Abia in 2023, should the party fail to cede its governorship ticket to his Ukwa clan or Abia North zone.
He argued that if Ukwa clan should not be considered because it belongs to Abia South senatorial zone where power currently resides, “then power should move back to Abia North where it started from in 1999”.
Wabara specifically warned that any attempt to make another Ngwa man succeed the incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who is also an Ngwa man would be counterproductive for PDP.
The former Senate President who said he was raising the alarm because of his love for PDP, advised Abia PDP leadership not to toy with the Abia Charter of Equity and zoning arrangement for which the party is known.
He said that anything short of allowing power to come to Ukwa or rotate back to Abia North in 2023 would spell doom for PDP.
”Zoning is an integral part of PDP. Abia PDP should learn from our national party and respect zoning.
”Our party shall not be doing the right thing at the centre and here somebody will be acting with impunity.
”No single person has the authority to decide the next governor of the state. The party caucus, elders, and stakeholders will have to meet.
“Gov. Ikpeazu’s successor may be micro zoned to the Governor but that should only happen after the right thing has been done in line with the constitution of our great party which is macro zoning to Ukwa or Abia North.
”I’m saying this because of my love for our great party PDP which of course enjoys large followership in Abia. But if the PDP leadership doesn’t do the right thing, the party will get a protest vote in 2023.
”Abians will vote PDP 85% but if the governorship ticket is not ceded to Ukwa or Abia North in line with power rotation arrangement, there will be a protest vote.
”Abia is not ready for Ngwa back-to-back thing. What they are doing now is exactly why PDP lost Plateau State to APC in 2015. Ukwa or Abia North should produce Ikpeazu’s successor”, Wabara cautioned.