Edo State governorship aspirants, stakeholders and other vested interest have ruled out zoning in the forthcoming election scheduled for September 21, 2024.

This development was learnt by our correspondent on Friday.

It will be recalled that there was a stakeholders meeting of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) with Edo State Chapter of the party on Thursday, were they had a closed door meeting that lasted for more than three hours.

A source at the meeting, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday said, “we all agree that there is no zoning. We have never zoned in Edo. Everybody agreed that we have never zoned in Edo. So zoning is out of it completely. So, we all agree that we have never zone in Edo. What we always do is compromise consensus, we talk to each other and then we agree.

“We agree that the agitation for Esan, Edo central to bring somebody is noted, but we have never done zoning in Edo state. It was unanimously agreed that there is no zoning. That should even be the story that PDP national working stakeholder meeting agrees there is no zoning that everybody unanimously agrees that there is no zoning.”

The source also revealed that everybody, who spoke were not happy with Governor Godwin Obaseki, adding, “there were about ten or eleven people who spoke. They were not happy with the governor.”

The source said that at the end, “what we agreed on was let us come together. We told the governor and Dan Orbi that they should go and reconcile. I insisted that the two of them must reconcile. I said we must reconcile to win PDP for Edo.”

In a vague reference to the alleged man Governor Obaseki is bringing to replace him, the source said, “other aspirants, who spoke said we need a united PDP for us to win, but there were some other aspirants, who were very angry from the same zone with the aspirant.

“They didn’t want to hear his name at all. They didn’t want to hear his name. From the Deputy Governor to about four from Edo central, they don’t want to hear his name.

“They said they don’t want a stranger in our party that we want to take our party back and rebuild it.”

The source noted that the Obaseki aspirant joined PDP two weeks ago, adding, “he is his business partner. He is his friend. You need to hear what the deputy governor said. The deputy governor said that he went to bring his business partner to come and be chairman of the Edo Economic team.

“He is not a member of our party, but a friend of the governor. He joined PDP two weeks ago.” (Daily Independent)

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