By Okey Ndiribe,  Asst. Pol. Editor
For obvious reasons, the South-East zone has become the beautiful bride within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) family as the race to the 2011 presidential election hots up.   Sources within the party have said  that  several months ago after he emerged as the nation’s substantive President,  Dr. Goodluck Jonathan sent emissaries to  Governors of the Southeast zone who belong to the party  intimating them about the likelihood of him running for the presidential election next year.

The President’s mesage was believed to have been welcome since it was in line with an ealier resolution that was reached between politicians from the zone  and the South-South that power should shift to one these two  zones. It was not therefore surprising when the South-East governors announced that they had barred themselves from the presidential race in the 2011.

However, not long after this pronouncement by governors of the zone, a powerful group of northern politicians led by former military president Ibrahim Babangida held a closed door meeting.

Ezeife: Ndigbo rejects VP position offer from the North

At the end of the meeting both groups  issued a communique in which they declared that they were committed to zoning and the rotation of power principle as the best safeguard for our democracy, peace, unity and national stability; that the two groups are staunchly in support for the emergence of a northern presidential candidate in 2011; and that both groups would work assiduously for the realisation of an Igbo President in 2015.

The meeting which held sometime before the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP was believed to have had some impact on the NEC meeting. Indeed, the outcome of the NEC meeting was considered not to have been favourable to Jonathan as the NEC went ahead to retain its support for the controversial zoning principle even though it also acknowledged the President’s constitutional right to contest next year’s poll.

At the meeting of the South-East Governors which followed the NEC meeting, their  position which had initially been interpreted to mean a tacit endorsement of Jonathan changed.

The governors in the communique they issued after that meeting decided that their support for Jonathan won’t be automatic even though they maintained that none of them would run for the office of ppresident or vice-president in 2011.

According to Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state who is the Chairman of the forum, the group stated that “ We would give support to a presidential candidate with the best programme that will address the imbalance in the country, and the marginalisation of the South-east zone. We are not against anybody but what we are saying is that we will only make our support known when all the aspirants have declared their intention to run for the presidency next year”.

However, the political tide in the zone once again changed  in favour of President Jonathan during the last All Igbo Political Summit which held at Enugu two weeks ago.

Participants at the summit unanimously adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate for the zone . They declared that Jonathan’s presidency would not only further the Igbo cause, but bring the much needed development to the South East  region.

Chief convener of the summit, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, who read the communique issued after the event that lasted for five hours, however, said that the Jonathan ticket would depend on negotiation that would enable Ndigbo table their expectations before the President.

The communique read: “At independence Nigeria was made up of three regions which later became four regions that were further divided into states by military fiat over which Ndigbo had little or no say.

“The North has ruled the country for 33 years, the West 12 years, zoning or no zoning, rotation or not. The old Eastern region, for the sake of equity and justice, shall produce the next president of Nigeria. \

The region that produced over 90 percent of the wealth of the country should for a change, have a prime position in the governance of the country.

“That given the fact that what is now known as Bayelsa State used to be Brass District of Eastern Region, and that the Eastern and Midwestern regions have been marginalized in the presidency of Nigeria, consequently, the summit has decided to endorse the presidential aspiration of Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan.”

However, the joy elicited by the resolutions of this meeting when the South-east Governors Forum held another meeting which did not give President Jonathan wholesale endorsement as was anticipated.

However, observers of political developments in the South-east believe that these conflicting signals emerging from the zone indicate that the political elite of the zone are divided over whether to support the candidacy of President Jonathan or not. But the president is believed to be popular among the common people in the zone especially for ensuring the free flow of fuel at N65 per litre.

This view was expressed by former Governor of Anambra State Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife.

Speaking to Vanguard in a telephone interview he granted last Tuesday he said: “

“If you go to the South-east  more than 85 percent of the people are in support of President Jonathan. The elites who are quarreling among themselves, have other things they are fighting for especially their selfish interest. They have been asking for all kinds of positions.

Giving a deeper insight into the republican nature of the Igbos Ezeife further said:

“Another point is that we are not leading cattle; our people have their brains and are capable of making their own decisions. You cannot  tell the people of the South-east to follow you without reasoning and expect them to follow you; you have to convince them. What we set out to do was to get information from different groups in the country including those from the North and  the South-south,  then go home and discuss with the people. That was the strategy of the Igbo Think Tank.”