The Presidential Villa is not at peace with the remarks credited to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo over zoning in the light of the import, generally interpreted as the position of the ruling party.

President Goodluck Jonathan too was said to have been taken aback by Nwodo’s pronouncement of zoning as unrealistic, and hence dead in the present political circumstance, a reason some of his aides reportedly put telephone calls across to him to re-address the issue with immediate effect.

Nwodo had spoken to newsmen in Enugu last week, where a reception programme was organised in his honour, and during which he spoke on the burning issue of zoning in derogative terms, in a manner political analysts concluded was meant to please President Jonathan.

On realising that the presidency was rattled by the straight position he took, Nwodo had to deploy his Special Adviser on Media, Ike Abonyi to work on the journalists, many of who insisted that they never misquoted the Chairman whose remarks they all had on tape.

Abonyi had issued a press statement to that effect to impress it on the public that the media got the Nwodo wrong, as he further accused newspaper editors who carried the story of casting the headlines on zoning outside what the PDP chairman told reporters.

According to Abonyi, Nwodo, during his chat with newsmen explained the process he intended to follow in revisiting the issue of zoning when he said it would be “cooked” at the National Working Committee (NWC), and then taken to the party caucus and BOT for fine-tuning before going to NEC of the party for deliberation and endorsement.

Nwodo also tried to explain how the zoning was breached in the past when he said that except in 1999 when the party returned late Abubakar Rimi’s non-refundable money, in 2003 and 2007 the party accepted money and cleared aspirants from every zone to contest.

Nwodo was clear in his remark on zoning when he said “There is no zoning on ground right now, absolutely no zoning because in 1999, there was zoning and only one northerner (Rimi) insisted on his right in the Nigerian constitution to contest against the zoning arrangement of the PDP. We jettisoned it, but we can re invent it. if we think that we can re-invent zoning today, let us revisit zoning but the one we did in 1999. No, no, it has been jettisoned by PDP itself”.

However, findings by Sunday Tribune have revealed that it was not only the presidency that was rattled by the remarks by Nwodo, but also the national headquarters as the officials reportedly felt they never took any position on zoning.

Indications are rife that the PDP is already polarised even before the issue of zoning and comments by Nwodo hit the newsstands as most officials felt that the party was yet to evolve a cohesion that it required to fly in the face of daunting challenges that the PDP must scale ahead of the next general election.

Most party officials have been grumbling against the style of leadership by Nwodo which is considered exclusive to a few, a reason many of them felt that Nwodo’s style of leadership should first be studied for every official to blend.

The common complaint by officials at the national secretariat is that Nwodo rather than allowing each office to function as required has been depending on his aides to perform such functions, contrary to laid down procedures guiding operations of the ruling party, hitherto.

Some officials of the party are also of the view that Nwodo’s unbridled knack for making free remarks would affect the party in many ways, having alluded to a similar remark he earlier made against state governors, with impression that he would be totally out to curtailing their influences, as such was considered as an issue capable of rupturing peace within the party.

The recant by Nwodo on zoning notwithstanding, members of the party have been taking him on based on perceived effect his remarks had created, as party members conclude that Nwodo had clearly defined the role he is determined to play as the new Chairman of PDP.

First to react was a group of members of the National Assembly who met last Wednesday in Abuja to decry his remark on zoning, all opining that PDP had an ulterior motive of blocking the chances of certain presidential primaries, possibly for the interest of President Jonathan who up till now has not declared intent to run in the next presidential election.

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida had also taken on Nwodo on his conclusion on zoning, as he told the party not to embark on any action capable of derailing democracy in the country.

Babangida had personally drafted a press statement which he signed for the first time since he declared interest in running in the 2011 presidential election, and circulated to the media, using very diplomatic words and style to condemn the PDP national chairman for pronouncing zoning dead.

He tactfully told Nwodo that he had no right to make any uncomplimentary remark against zoning since his emergence as PDP chairman came from that concept, even as he expressed happiness that he later recanted, an idea that he would tolerate an open discussion on the issue.

He fired a salvo against Nwodo when he said, “I am pleased to read the position of the PDP chairman, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, and the newly selected party chairman who was first among equals when he was zoned-in from a group of other persons from the South-East Zone. He is a direct product of zoning after waiving some encumbrances that would have mitigated his emergence as the new chairman of our great Party.

“Nwodo pronounced the zoning policy of the PDP as dead, even though he said it could be revisited and that he is not afraid of an open discussion of the issue. By making room for further discussion on the zoning policy, Nwodo has demonstrated his liberal and progressive disposition to the whole world”.

Then he added, “I wish to congratulate him and to state that he seems poised to do for PDP many good things hopefully all in the interest of enabling a sustainable democracy for the nation and for the PDP as a party. In order for the PDP to be seen as a progressive vehicle for change it must rise above politics of personalities or that of “he who pays the piper”.

There are indications that more stalwarts of PDP are eager to take on Nwodo on the issue of zoning, just as the press conferences planned by some of them to address the issue had to be postponed when the news of his recant hit the air waves.

Notwithstanding, some political parties had scheduled their press briefings for this week to take on Nwodo on the burning issue of zoning, some of them having already served notices of such briefings which will start from tomorrow.

About five political parties anchored by National Democratic Party (NDP) had agreed to jointly address the media during the week to impress it on political stakeholders in Nigeria that the issue of zoning has been a convention adopted by every political party in Nigeria to infuse a sense of belonging into members.