From when Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 and last year, the PDP had 16 years of uninterrupted power and the southeast was one of the zones that always voted heavily for the party. Having lost out to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year's elections, the PDP is now planning to field a northern candidate come 2019 with an Igbo running mate.
Describing the zoning of the vice presidential ticket to the region as a mockery, Governor Okorocha said the PDP never remembered the southeast as fit enough to occupy the office of the vice-president during its 16 years in power. He said the party lacked the potential to win the 2019 presidential election, adding that it was just waking up from its slumber.
Governor Okorocha said: “Why is the PDP now considering the southeast for the vice-presidency after 16 years? Are they just waking up from their slumber?
“For the 16 years the PDP was in power, it never considered the southeast as being fit for the position of the vice-president and the party never had any reason to remember the southeast as a major power bloc. It never considered the southeast as being capable of holding any sensitive position in the country and they are just waking up from their slumber after being out of power."
He added that even in terms of projects, the southeast had a very rough experience in the PDP government. According to Governor Okorocha, all the federal roads in the zone were death traps until the party was voted out of power and the Second Niger Bridge became an endless pit for the PDP.
"Some oil wells belonging to some states in the zone were taken away and given to other states outside the zone. It was a hopeless situation for the zone.
“Now, they have started to dangle the VP carrot before the zone because they desperately want power again. They also know that what the zone could not get from the PDP government, it could now get from the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government," Governor Okorocha added.
He said the vice-presidential ticket was bait by the opposition party to deceive the people of the region, adding that the people of the southeast could see beyond it. He added that the major concern of the Buhari administration was to develop the southeast, stressing that the federal government would not neglect the region as the PDP did.
“The fact is that the southeast would get its due from the APC administration because the APC believes in fair play, justice and equity. The PDP toyed with the fate of the southeast which the APC has not done and the good signs are everywhere.
"The southeast will be better under the APC government as our interest is to develop the zone. Anything due to the zone will be given to it because the level of greed in the PDP cannot be found in APC as the APC won’t wait until it is out of power before remembering the southeast or any other zone," Governor Okorocha added.
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