ADC Blasts Keyamo Over Zoning Remarks, Cites APC’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket

Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has refuted Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development’s zoning accusation against the party.

According to reports, Keyamo stated in a post on 𝕏 that the ADC’s fear of zoning its presidential ticket like other parties stems from the party’s affiliation with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

“The ADC is afraid to clearly ZONE its presidential ticket, like the other major parties (PDP and APC) have done, because the party belongs to one man called Atiku Abubakar @atiku,” the minister stated.

The incapacity of ADC to zone its presidential ticket is the EXACT hole that Atiku forced PDP into in 2023.

The ADC spokesperson responded by saying that Keyamo’s stance on zoning was false.

He described how the APC disregarded zoning when choosing its presidential flagbearer in 2014, the Senate President in 2015, and a Muslim-Muslim presidential candidate in 2023.

A party with such a past shouldn’t be criticizing another, he said.

“You may be aware (or not) that the party leadership initially decided to zone the number three position to the North Central at the beginning of the controversy over who should be Senate President after the 2015 presidential election,” Abdullahi stated.

But when it appeared that Dr. Saraki would win, the ACN caucus, led by Baba Akande and Asiwaju BAT (now President), claimed to represent progressive politics and said that zoning was a PDP issue. They supported Ahmed Lawan from Yobe (North East) because of this.

“That would not be a baseless argument, considering that the presidential primaries that produced PMB appeared to have been thrown open, irrespective of zoning,” he continued.

Rochas Okorocha (4th, 264 votes) was able to run alongside Buhari, Kwankwaso, @Atiku, and Sam Nda-Isaiah because of this. Ahmad Lawan (NE), Ahmed Sani (NW), Yahaya Bello (NC), and candidates from the South ran in the primary election in 2023, repeating this pattern.

Additionally, in 2027, the APC merely zoned to the incumbent rather than any region, much like in 2019.

Now, you would agree with me (hopefully) that religious balancing is a component of zoning as a means of fostering national cohesiveness, which has been shown to be even more important than geographic concerns.

However, when the APC opted for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it severed this tenuous thread of national cohesion.

By doing thus, the APC demonstrated that they had no time to consider religious sensitivities as long as they believed that a ticket based on the same religion would win.

“And it would be a matter of political strategy if they changed it or kept it in 2027; it wouldn’t be because they suddenly felt guilty.”