2023: Tinubu deserves the chance to rule Nigeria — Shagari

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former Minister for Water Resources, Mukhtari Shehu Shagari, has added his voice to the zoning debate, saying he's all for competence, credibility and capability ahead of 2023 presidential election.

Shagari who made the statement in an interview with Saturday Sun, however, acknowledged the importance of zoning, saying zoning is strickly a party issue, and is necessary to create a sense of belonging, but emphasized the need to focus more on competence, credibility and capability.


He also spoke on Tinubu's presidential ambition saying the APC's national leader deserves a chance.

He said, “First and foremost, let us try to understand why our leaders came out with this issue of zoning.

“Zoning in the first place is not a concessional matter; it is an arrangement and understanding by people to give opportunity to each side of the country; the South and the North.



“So, it is normally up to the political party but to me, what is so important, as far as I’m concerned is competence and credibility and capability of the candidate that you pick, whether it is through zoning, or open for everybody, what should be the criteria are competence, credibility of the person, his capability and his love for Nigeria from where ever he may come from.

“But, zoning is good, in the sense that it gives everybody a sense of belonging. You know we have practised zoning in the past? Because I remember, even in 2003, people still came out from other sections of the country to contest against Obasanjo in PDP.


“And it has been happening, and I hope that whoever the parties eventually choose to be their flag bearers, whether it’s from the North or from the South, I think the yardstick should be his competence, his capability and then also, his credibility.

“Those should be the things but I wouldn’t want to say zoning is not good, it is good, but for me, these three things that I’ve mentioned should be the yardstick through which we should elect our president, it should be the yardstick through which the parties also elect their own candidates for the various elections in 2023.”




Shagari who described Tinubu as a competent Nigerian capable of leading the country, advised the All Progressives Congress (APC), to give its National Leader, the opportunity.

He said, “Bola Tinubu is a very competent person and he has been able to raise a lot of leaders from Lagos, from the local government to state and national level and so, he is a very good person, he’s a very competent person but whether or not he will be presidential candidate in 2023 depends on his own political party and as I said I belong to the PDP, I cannot say who and who the APC will want to field but he’s a very competent person, he is alright.”