Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal says the Peoples Democratic Party should give its presidential ticket to a candidate that can win election not minding what part of country the candidate comes from.

“I’m appealing to my party that we should be talking about how to win the election. Not just not zoning of where the President is coming from,” Mr Tambuwal said.

He added that “The President can come from wherever provided he has the capacity and competence to fix Nigeria of the moment. The Nigeria of 1998 is different from the Nigeria of 2023.” 

Mr Tambuwal made this statement in an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday, citing how the All Progressives Congress won 2015 election by strategically picking President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate. 

“As I said before, APC in 2015, deliberately out of strategy sort out President Muhammadu Buhari from Katsina state. Meanwhile the last president from Northern part of Nigeria was Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from same Katsina State. 

“Because they believe they can win election with him. It is now the APC is talking about zoning. When they were looking for Presidency and power, they didn’t talk about zoning. They got someone they believe could check the box at that moment and deliver,” Mr Tambuwal said. 

The governor’s comment comes amid agitation for the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the south. 

Last year, Southern governors, regardless of party affiliation, in a communique, said Southern Nigeria must produced the next president.

Like Mr Tambuwal, former vice president Atiku Abubakar has kicked against the PDP zoning its presidential ticket. 

Should the PDP zone its ticket to the south, the likes of Messrs Tambuwal and Abubakar and other northerners in PDP could be schemed out of the contest.