The Labour Party (LP) has zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, effectively barring aspirants from the North from contesting for the position on its platform.

Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Senator Nenadi Usman, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday following a consultative meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Senator Usman emphasised that the decision was a firm policy shift intended to provide clarity for prospective aspirants ahead of the next general election.

“We have one certain decision that we have taken. That is to say that we will certainly not field any aspirant from Northern Nigeria. We have zoned the position to Southern Nigeria. So if any Northerner comes now wanting to contest elections, we certainly will not accept that,” she said when asked about the party’s zoning arrangement.

While confirming the regional preference, the National Chairman noted that the party remains committed to internal democracy and would not handpick a specific individual.

“As for who, I can’t tell you now because then it won’t be democratic anymore. When the aspirants come, whoever the people like and vote for during the primaries, then whoever it is that wins the primaries, then we put them in the position,” she said.

The announcement comes on the heels of a significant legal victory for the party’s current leadership.

Senator Usman confirmed that a suit filed at a High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, against the National Caretaker Committee was dismissed for lacking merit.

“To God be the glory, the case was thrown out. The court discovered that they had no locus standi. I believe the judge did very well by standing on truth, and the case is now thrown out, so it is over,” she stated.

Regarding the party’s upcoming congresses, originally slated to begin on Thursday, March 26, the Chairman hinted at a potential adjustment to the timetable to accommodate a “surge” of new members.

She argued that sticking to the immediate date might disenfranchise many who are currently seeking to join the party. “If we go ahead and stick to that date, to my mind, we are going to disenfranchise quite a number of people. “I think we should tinker with that date, sit together as a group and come up with a new date,” she said.

Senator Usman also touched on a recent security breach involving party property, confirming that a formal petition has been submitted to the Nigerian Police.

She expressed confidence that the authorities would “bring to book all those who had a hand in what happened” to serve as a deterrent against future political violence. (Vanguard)

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