COVID-19: Protesters shut down Edo over compulsory vaccination by Adeyinka Adedipe

Members of civil society organisations and students on Monday took to major streets in Edo State to protest against the compulsory COVID-19 vaccination policy put in place by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration. The protesters, who grounded vehicular movement in the metropolis, carried placards bearing inscriptions as: ‘We need security in Edo, not vaccine’; ‘We will resist any form of executive rascality’; ‘Hunger is killing us, not COVID-19’; ‘Obaseki obey court order’; ‘My body is my right’; ‘Share COVID-19 palliative’. They also threatened to completely shut down government houses, government agencies/parastatals, corporate organisations enforcing ‘no vaccine, no entry’ policies, stressing that the protest of Monday was just a warning. Speaking at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, the coordinator of the Freedom Ambassador Organisation, Curtis Ogbebor, said they were out to express their displeasure over the compulsory vaccination in the state, noting that other pressing issues such as security should be the governor’s priority and not COVID-19 vaccination. He said, “We have come out today to send a warning and an advice for him to urgently withdraw that enforcement order. If he refuses to withdraw that order in 48 hours, we will mobilise to shut down the economy of the state. We cannot fold our arms and watch the act of illegality happen in our state. “There are issues of urgent concern like security which is enshrined in the constitution that the governor is under the law to secure the lives and properties of its citizenry. But as we speak, the governor is not concern about the security and welfare of the people. “As of now, no street light is working in Edo State; Benin-Auchi Road is not safe to travel on because of bandits, herdsmen and other criminal elements.” He urged the state governor to also focus on infrastructural development rather than enforcing COVID-19 vaccination. Also speaking on behalf of students in Edo, National Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Student and Youth Association, Osamudiamen Ogbidi, said students in the state reject the forceful COVID-19 vaccination. While noting that the protest was just a warning and that students would be mobilised to shut down the state, he said all other youths in the state also reject the compulsory vaccination.

Police threaten clampdown as IPOB declares sit-at-home on October 1 by Tony Okafor and Edward Nnachi

The Ebonyi State Police Command has threatened to deal with any group that foments trouble in the state on October 1, 2021. Nigeria celebrates its Independence Day annually on October 1. Ahead of this year’s celebrations to mark Nigeria’s proclamation of independence from British rule on October 1, 1960, the Indigenous People of Biafra, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, on Saturday, issued a sit-at-home order in the five South-East states. The secessionist group also banned the flying of the Nigerian flag in the region on that day. He said, “IPOB has declared October 1, 2021, total shutdown in Biafraland as a sign of our rejection of the evil construct called Nigeria and there shall be no movement in Biafraland on this day. “Also, IPOB has declared from September 25, 2021, that all Nigerian flags mounted anywhere in Biafraland must be brought down, banks exceptional. IPOB leadership will communicate to banks directly and give them the reason they must peacefully bring down the Nigeria flag on their banking premises before we do it ourselves in our own way.” But the state Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abakaliki, on Saturday night, said operatives of the command will not fold their hands and watch a group of persons unleash illegality in the state. He said, “This portrays illegality and we will not allow it. It is not the norm in our country and it’s unconstitutional. Our job is to maintain law and order so we will not take it lightly with anybody or group of persons who try to disrupt the peace of the state. We will deal with such a person or group of persons.” According to the police spokesperson in the state, DSP Loveth Odah, the commissioner had rolled down an operational order to men of the command to prevent crimes or illegality in the state during and after the Independence Day celebrations. She said, “We have been briefed and we are ready to contain every illegal act of any group of persons come October 1. We have already been given operational orders to this effect by the Commissioner of Police and we will not tolerate any act capable of causing a breach of the peace. On October 1, we will prevent any group from removing the Nigerian flag in the state.” Meanwhile, IPOB has urged residents in the South-East states to celebrate Ambazonia’s 4th independence anniversary on October 1, 2021. Ambazonia, also known as Ambaland, is a secessionist, self-declared nation in Cameroon, comprising the English speaking North-West and South-West Region of Cameroon. The two separatist groups formed an alliance in 2020 to drive their push for self-determination from the two West African neighbours. The statement read in part, “In line with the Memorandum of Understanding and alliance between Ambazonia and Biafra nations, we wish to ask Biafrans to support and celebrate Ambazonia’s Independence anniversary on October 1, 2021. We advise Biafrans to stand with the Ambazonian people as they celebrate their God-given freedom and independence.” IPOB’s sit-at-home observed every Monday has grounded socio-economic activities in the South-East states namely Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Abia with many residents abiding by the order. Despite the governors’ assurances to the people to ignore the order and go about their normal business on Mondays, they continued to obey it even when IPOB suspended the order. The group announced the order in the region to protest the Federal Government’s prosecution of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, for offences bordering on treasonable felony. Kanu is advocating Igbo Nation. After announcing the suspension of the sit-home which the people didn’t obey perhaps in solidarity or for fear of attack, IPOB noted that the order would be observed only on the days Kanu would appear in court. It also threatened a one-month sit-at-home protest in the region if Kanu was not brought to court on October 2, 2021. t PUNCH.

Why dead Nigerians’ names are still on voter register – INEC chair by Solomon Odeniyi

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said the inability of the commission to get adequate data on death in the country has hindered it from removing names of dead Nigerians from the voter register. He added that INEC had been periodically removing ineligible persons and multiple registrants using technology but the technology cannot assist the commission to identify and remove dead persons from its record. Yakubu said this when he received the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Kwarra, at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja on Friday. He, however, called on the NPC to ensure that data on dead persons in the country is made available to the commission for a proper clean up of the voter register. He said, “Perhaps you may wish to start by availing us with the list of prominent Nigerians who have passed on, civil and public servants compiled from the official records of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies and other Nigerians from hospital and funeral records across the country. “We appreciate that this is a herculean task but that is partly why we have the National Population Commission. We are confident that the NPC has the capacity to do so. This information is critical for INEC to enhance the credibility of the National Register of Voters”. Read Also INEC maintains dead govs, ministers, others on voter register LASIEC shouldn’t have access to INEC voter register –Resident Voter registration: 203,497 requests received in one week - INEC According to Yakubu, the NPC and INEC have embarked on one of the most imaginative and extensive inter-agency collaborations in Nigeria in the area of delimitation of boundaries of electoral constituencies. Earlier, Kwarra said the NPC was awaiting the approval of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), to conduct a national census by the first quarter of 2022. According to him, the Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise which is a prelude to a national census was still ongoing, adding that INEC aims to complete the enumeration by October. Copyright PUNCH

EXPOSED: HOW NIGERIAN AIRWAYS WAS KILLED AND THE MEN WHO EMBEZZLED THE AGENCY TO DEATH. - Agency Reports

On Tuesday, as the Nigerian government commenced payment of the pension of retired employees of the defunct Nigerian Airways, members of the House of Representatives passed a resolution to investigate those indicted for looting the resources of the fallen national carrier. After weeks of verification, the government eventually cleared about 6,000 former employees to be paid from the N45 billion earmarked for the purpose. The former employees have not been paid their entitlements since 2003 when the airline went belly up. The House resolution to identify those indicted by the white paper with the aim of ensuring they are “prosecuted and made to refund the loot,” followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by James Faleke (APC-Lagos) during plenary. Mr Faleke said the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002 set up the Justice Obiora Nwazota Judicial Commission to probe the operations of Nigerian Airways. He said the commission revealed the looting and misappropriation of the company’s resources to the tune of N60 billion. “The white paper was approved by the federal government and further directed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the police to recover the stolen funds and prosecute the indicted culprits,” he said. “Those indicted in the report are believed to be largely visible in the public arena while the ex-workers continue to languish in abject poverty having been denied their rights to their entitlements with many of them reportedly dead without receiving their entitlements.” Mr Faleke then added that if the Obasanjo government and subsequent administrations had implemented the recommendations of the white paper, workers of the airline would not have suffered much pains and deprivation. ….An orgy of fraud In 2013, an investigation on the judicial commission of inquiry’s white paper detailed the orgy of fraud and unbridled embezzlement that ultimately hastened the death of the once prosperous airline. The airline, which had 32 airworthy aircraft in its heyday in the 1980s, saw its fleet reduced to just two barely functional airplanes. Outraged by the cascading status of the airline, Mr Obasanjo in 2002 set up the commission of inquiry to investigate its management. The commission was mandated, amongst other things, to “examine all books of account and records and determine whether there has been compliance with appropriate regulations.” The commission worked for a year going through documents and interviewing stakeholders and other experts. At the end of its assignment, it submitted a four-volume report that revealed mind-boggling fraud, misappropriations and wanton recklessness running into billions of naira involving several officials of the airline, administrators, travel agencies, financial institutions, local and foreign companies, as well as one prominent development organisation. On December 11, 2002, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a draft White Paper on the commission’s report and directed the ministry of justice and the police to prosecute and recover the stolen funds. It also directed the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to gazette the recommendations of the white paper. That was the last heard of the white paper. The police, the justice ministry and the SGF failed to do as the FEC directed. The Justice Nwazota-led Commission of Inquiry revealed that decency was thrown to the dogs in the management of the Nigerian Airways. It was a free-for-all contest of corruption with almost everyone involved in the running of the airline trying desperately to out-embezzle the other. Due process was alien to the managers of the airline. Officials stole and misappropriated tens of millions of dollars. Administrators arbitrarily signed shady contracts with companies without recourse to regulations, monies were dubiously deposited and lost in moribund financial institutions. Functional airplanes were sold as scraps and the revenue stolen. Officials collected huge loans from financial institutions with the name of the airline and kept the money for personal use. …The indicted Though several individuals, organisations, companies were indicted by the judicial panel of inquiry for their roles, which includes the stealing of several millions of dollars, in the eventual demise of Nigerian Airways, some persons received prominent mentions for their brazen and unrestrained looting of the airline. Just like Mr Faleke said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, many of them are still around today, free and enjoying the proceeds of their alleged fraudulent act after killing a national icon. Below is a list of these men. 1. Mohammed Joji No single individual should be blamed as much as a former managing director of the Nigerian Airways, Mohammed Joji, the judicial commission found. In fact, the commission stated that Mr Joji, who owns Skypower Express Airways and is the secretary general of Aircraft Operators of Nigeria, was brashly corrupt and handled the affairs of the airline in such a reprehensible manner that it recommended he should be banned from ever holding public office in Nigeria. However, last year, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration allegedly appointed him to head a committee that supervised the repair of the Abuja airport and the temporary relocation of international flight to nearby Kaduna Airport. That alleged appointment was, however, not publicly announced. The Nwazota-led commission found that in 1993 Mr Joji “collected and spent” N4.37 billion ($12 million) royalty from Swissair without approval. Also, in the same year, he diverted N3.57 billion ($9,800,000) to himself in a single transaction. According to the judicial committee, Mr. Joji claimed that he paid N3.93 billion ($10.8 million) to a defunct Belgian national airline, Sabena Airline, but he only paid N364 million ($1million), the panel discovered. Further, the white paper revealed that in March 1993, Mr Joji “unlawfully approved” N2 million to one Grace Hembah as imprest account. In the same year, Mr. Joji outsourced the maintenance of a Boeing 737 aircraft to Brazilian consultants paying them in full despite up to 75 per cent of the maintenance was done by employees of Nigerian Airways. The committee said the airline lost N1.28 billion ($3.53 million) in the process. A year before, Mr. Joji had paid Nicon Insurance PLC N896.43 million ($2,458,064) less premium due to the then government-owned insurance company. Also, the judicial committee found that during the tenure of Mr. Joji as the managing director of the airline, N813.38 ($2,230,357) discounted from the premium accrued to the airline had vanished into thin air. In all, the white paper revealed that Mr. Joji was responsible for the diversion or siphoning of N11 billion ($30,018,421) in 24 months. When contacted in 2013, Mr Joji, said that his indictment was as a result of a witchhunt against him by former aviation ministers, Bablola Borishade and Kema Chikwe. He described Mr Nwazota as a mere consultant, adding that the committee did not do a good job. “There were several panels. Nwazota was just a consultant. Is that what you call a panel? They didn’t do a proper job,” he said in a telephone conversation. “Do your research. The question you have to ask is who wrote the white paper? Was it gazetted? Was anyone charged?” He wondered why there was an interest in the story 10 years after. “At that time, no newspaper wrote about it. The White Paper was published 10 years ago, why are you just writing about it now,” he queried. When told we had just started publishing, he replied: “You are starting on a bad note. They will charge you to court. The White Paper is not gazetted. You’re playing a dangerous game. Ten years ago, something was written, and you just came overnight and want to write something about it.” “It just a wishy-washy thing by Mr. Borishade and Kema Chikwe. It wasn’t gazetted and I wasn’t charged,” he said. 2. Jani Ibrahim The second biggest culprit in the demise of the Nigerian Airways identified by the Nwazota commission of inquiry is Jani Ibrahim. The chieftain of the Nigerian ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara State was indicted for several fraudulent and illegal acts between 1996 and 2001 that he was the managing director of the airways. Mr. Ibrahim, who is now a director of Heritage Bank, was so enmeshed in corruption that the investigating commission declared that ““every project and contract was conceived with fraudulent intent.” The white paper specifically described him as “fraudulent and high-handed.” According to the white paper, Mr. Ibrahim treated the airline’s account like his personal wallet and summarily sacked those “he thought were threats to his fraudulent practices.” The judicial commission found that between 1997 and 1999, Mr. Ibrahim collected rent valued at N1.47 billion ($4,052,234.00) due to the airline and spent the money without recourse to laid down regulations. He unilaterally paid $1.78 million without guarantee to Alpine Aviation, a travel agency for the 1999 Hajj operation. The agency failed to deliver. But only $560,000 was recovered from the agency. The balance of N444.92 million ($1.22 million) could not be recovered, the commission stated in the white paper. Between 1997 and 1999 was the period Mr. Ibrahim was most profligate, the report stated. In that period, he appointed and paid a third-party company, Hak Air, N338.75 million ($928,895) to collect revenue on behalf of the airline. After analysing the deal, the judicial commission stated the Hak Air has no capacity whatsoever to carry out the job assigned to it. Mr. Ibrahim also overpaid Hak Air (N529 million) $1.45 million for overhauling two aircraft – DC10-30 and B737, the white paper stated. During the first C-Check of an Airbus in Nigeria by United Kingdom-based aircraft maintenance firm, Revilo Aerospace, Mr. Ibrahim made an over-payment of N224.68million ($616,052.26). He also “single-handedly signed and disbursed N379 million ($1,039,439.00) without the signature of the airline’s financial director as regulation required.” Mr. Ibrahim also unilaterally allotted 24 plots of land belonging to the airline in the Ayobo area of Lagos to non-staff members of the airline. In keeping faith with what the judicial commission described as Mr Ibrahim’s authoritarian approach to leadership, he went into a Wet Lease agreement with Al-Mahfooz Aviation, a Gambian chartered airline, that was to last for a year, but the venture collapsed because Mr. Ibrahim did not consult Nigerian Airways technical department. The failure of the agreement cost the airline N247.28 million. In all, a whopping N3.63 billion disappeared as a result of corruption and the highhandedness of Mr. Ibrahim while he was managing director of the airline, the report stated. 3. Bernard Banfa and Patrick Koshoni During his time as managing director of the Nigerian airways, the judicial commission revealed that Bernard Banfa, a retired air commodore, colluded with Patrick Koshoni, a retired admiral and the minister of aviation at the time, to sell airworthy A310 aircraft at giveaway prices against the advice of experts. The commission recommended that the duo should refund N158.73 billion ($435.25 million) being the cost of an A310 aircraft. There is no evidence that both men repaid the money as directed by the commission. Despite his indictment by the commission, in 2016, President Buhari appointed Mr Banfa, who was a member of the President’s defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which later merged with other parties to form the ruling APC, into the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). 4. Afam Nwagboso Afam Nwagboso, who was the director of finance of the Nigerian Airways in 1992, with the approval of Mr Joji, designated a moribund bank (Continental Merchant Bank) as the collecting bank for all cash taking of the airline. Soon after the designation, the bank failed, and the airline lost N40 million already collected by it. 5. Olu Bajowa and Alabo Graham-Douglas The managing director of Nigeria Airways between 1988 and 1990, Olu Bajowa, a retired major general, gave CES Travels the exclusive right to sell tickets for the airline in the United Kingdom and the United States. During the period, CES Travels failed to remit N2.29 billion ($6.3 million) worth of tickets it sold on behalf of the airline. Commission recommended that Mr. Bajowa, Alabo Graham Douglas, a prominent Ijaw politician and member of the opposition Peoples democratic Party in Rivers State, M. Abdulsalam, T. Mgbhor and U.S.H Maigida, should refund the money to the airline’s account. 6. Mohammed Kari The judicial commission also wrote in its white paper that in 1993, a former managing director and chief executive of Nicon Insurance, Mohammed Kari, colluded with other officials of Nicon Insurance and Nigerian Airways to divert N50.82 billion ($13,935,956) to a phony company – Alexander Services Limited in the Channel Island, an offshore tax haven. In July 2015, Mr Buhari, in one of his first appointments made after being sworn-in as president, named Mr Kari the commissioner for Insurance and chief executive of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). For days, Mr Kari failed to respond to questions about his indictment sent to by PREMIUM TIMES through the spokesperson of NAICOM, Razaq Salami. 7. Ibrahim Bala Bala Ibrahim was an area marketing manager of the airline. In 1993, he stole N860.50 million ($2,359,546.95) collected from the Jeddah station for excess baggage and luggage allowance, the commission revealed. 8. All-Well Brown For two years, between 1995 to 1997, All-Well Brown, a director, “kept some crew of the airline in Miami for five months for no reasonable cause,” the commission discovered. Their stay cost the airline N44.49 million ($122,000.00). 9. Alexandra Howden Some officials of the airways connived with a defunct UK insurance company, Alexandra Howden, and transferred N893.49 million ($2.45 million) to its account without rendering any service to the airline. 10. A. Olafisoye According to the report, Mr Olafisoye, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bond Limited, and other senior management officials, stole millions of dollar from the airline. The report described Mr. Olafisoye as “all-in-all [who] manipulated the operators of the company at will.” The report said his involvement with the company “led to the looting of funds and other fraudulent activities that brought the [airline] on its kneels.” Tweet ATTACHMENT CONTACT INFO NIGERIAN CONCORD ONLINE Editor-in-Chief : AARE ABIODUN

2023: APC reveals where Buhari’s successor should come from By Seun Opejobi

The South African chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has expressed hope that a Nigerian from the diaspora would succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. Bola Babarinde, Chairman of APC in South Africa, disclosed this after Philip Idaewor, Chairman of Forum of APC Diaspora, declared his intention to run for Nigeria’s presidency in 2023. The News Agency of Nigeria. NAN, reports that Idaewor, a medical doctor and Chairman of APC in the UK, made his intention known via a zoom conference of his campaign group and media on Sunday. Babarinde, while speaking with NAN on Tuesday in Lagos, said the party needed a candidate that had lived abroad and understood what good governance was all about. According to him, the Chairmen of Diaspora chapters are deliberating on ways to contribute to the development of the party and Nigeria. “We are deliberating on someone that will carry ordinary Nigerians along, someone that believes in the federation and not the present unitary system we are practising due to our faulty constitution. “We are very serious in making the real change happen and not just as a slogan,” Babarinde said. On the APC National Convention, Babarinde said the Gov. Mai Mala-Buni-led Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), was not carrying the diaspora chapters along as expected. “Presently, no relationship between APC Caretaker Committee and most, if not all, of the diaspora chapters; no direct information to us. “It is also very difficult to communicate with the CECPC, no clear line of communication for now. “We are not sure of the plans of the caretaker committee for us in the Diaspora,” he added.

APC UK chairman Philip Idaewor joins 2023 presidential race. By Adeyemi Adeleye

Dr Philip Idaewor, Chairman, Forum of APC Diaspora Chairmen has declared his interest in Nigeria’s 2023 presidency. Idaewor, a medical doctor and chairman of APC UK, made his intention known via a zoom conference of the campaign group and media on Sunday. The Edo born chieftain of Diaspora APC, said his decision to join the race was to usher in new ideas that would help build on the achievements of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration. “The best successor for President Buhari should be one with fresh ideas from the diaspora, who has the mental capacity and goodwill to adapt those ideas that have made life better for citizens of the more or better developed western nations, to the Nigerian challenges. According to him, the myriads of challenges of Nigeria though tough, are surmountable. My ambition is the ambition of diaspora APC chairmen, made up of personalities in different fields in various countries, and we think this is time for us to wade in and make Nigeria better,. Idaewor said his first focus would be strengthening institutions against all forms of corruption in Nigeria and making them impregnable to criminals. He said: “Corruption has cost and still costing Nigeria huge wastes. If corruption is tackled headlong in all sectors of the economy and government, then Nigeria will be steps ahead of achieving her dream status.” He noted that some of the issues of poverty, insecurity, infrastructure among others were all tied to corruption, saying: ‘ eliminate corruption and you eliminate almost all our challenges. ” If I am elected, those who think they have ways of beating the system will have to think twice, knowing that the possibility of being indicted or caught will be extremely high,” Idaewor added. Also speaking, Mazi Charles Eze, Campaign Director of the Idaewor for President and HOPE2023 Campaign Organisation, said the decision for Idaewor to run, remained a “Diaspora Movement”. He said they understood it was a tough terrain but they would pull their skills to make it happen for the nation’s benefit. “It’s a very tall order but we have the capacity to pull it off. The kind of campaign we undertook for President Buhari in the diaspora is what we will bring in and indeed, we have learnt from those experiences. We know there will be challenges but we are ready for them,” he said. Also speaking, Mr Ayoola Lawal, Secretary of the APC Diaspora Chairmen Forum and Chairman, APC in the Scandinavian countries, said APC should consider ceding the candidacy to a diaspora member. Ayoola said the decision by the group to join more active politics in Nigeria dated back to many years ago, when some of them came in to contest at different levels in their home states. “Those elections were experiences for us and we have built on those experiences and believe it is time to wade in,” Ayoola said. Idaewor is a specialist Histopathologist, residing and working in the UK. He had his medical education in Nigeria and previously worked as a lecturer at the University of Benin Medical School. Dr Idaewor had been Vice President and later President of the Resident Doctors Association at the University of Benin Teaching hospital, and also served as National Financial Secretary of the association at the national level. He was for over three years, the Coordinator of “Nigeria Prays” in Edo , under the national chairmanship of Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon. He had been a member of the Movement of National Reformation (MNR) led then by late Chief Anthony Enahoro , and on the platform of the MNR, became involved in NADECO during Nigeria’s pro-democracy campaign of 1993 – 1999. In 1999 Idaewor joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and was a key member of the party’s governorship campaign organisation in Edo. He was to later serve as Chairman of MNR Europe and later, the founding Chairman of PRONACO Europe. Dr Idaewor remained consistently a member of the defunct AD, and later Action Congress (AC) UK Chapter, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) UK Chapter and now APC UK chapter. He served at various times as the Head of Strategy, Congress Committee, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of these political parties.

2023 Presidency: PDP may lose again if northern candidate emerges, says Okupe by Sunday Aborisade

A former presidential spokesperson, Doyin Okupe, has warned the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party against presenting a northern candidate for the 2023 presidential election to avoid another major defeat. The PDP chieftain stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Saturday. Okupe argued that the zoning arrangement in the PDP ended with the 2019 presidential election but that some people within the party are insisting on presenting a northern candidate for the 2023 poll. He said major politicians were defecting from the party because of the issue of a northern presidential candidate. He expressed the fears that the party could collapse before 2023 if the gale of defections continues. Okupe said, “The gale of defections in the Peoples Democratic Party has nothing to do with any form of crisis. It is just part of happenings when a general election is approaching “Those who have defected have personal issues with party leadership, especially on the zoning arrangement. “The issue of zoning shouldn’t be a basis for defections at this time because the committee set up to determine that will soon conclude their assignment and submit their report “However, there is a strong indication that the party is erroneously tilting towards zoning the presidency to the North. “Zoning is a veritable instrument that ensures equity and balancing in the nation, gives hope and confidence and support to our national unity. “The zoning arrangement which the PDP started since 1998 was based on the assumption that the party will be in power consistently but the moment it lost power in 2015, automatically the arrangement has to be reviewed in view of the development “When the PDP lost power, there was a southern president in power. If the party didn’t lose power and completed in 2019, zoning would kick in and power would have shifted to the North. “However, the party that won the election presented a northern candidate who by 2023 would have ruled for eight years. “We still carried on as if the former arrangement was still in place in 2019 and it was justifiable because within the PDP at that time for us to put forward a northern candidate. “In 2023, with APC having ruled for eight years with a northern candidate, it will be preposterous, unjust, uncaring and blatant for the PDP to zone the presidential ticket to the north because the arrangement expired the moment our party lost power in 2019. “There should be a reset of the zoning arrangement in 2023. It does not make sense to replace a northern government of eight years with another northern government for another eight years, it doesn’t make sense. “That is why the PDP should zone the presidency to the South. The southern governors who are the leaders of the South had spoken, we should listen to then. “It will be folly, reckless and insensitive for any political party to ignore the position of the southern governors “Some people who think they control wealth are talking within the party while reasonable and strong men are keeping quiet. Some are being given money to keep quiet. “The struggle between Secondus and Wike is unnecessary. It ought not to have degenerated to this level. Our party may lose again if we zone presidency to the North again in 2023, ” Okupe added.