Presidential primaries at state level not new, says IBB

Former President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has said that the proposed arrangement to conduct presidential primaries in each state of the federation is not a political innovation.
Babangida who made the statement in Gusau shortly after paying condolence visit on the death of the wife of the deputy governor, Hajiya Aisha Mukhtar Anka, said the idea started in 1992 when each state had its flag bearer.  The former president who is aspiring for the presidency in 2011 said he sees nothing wrong with the arrangement, stressing that it even makes the process easier.



Speaking on zoning, General Babangida said it was adopted by the PDP to win confidence of the people and popularize the party, pointing out that every political party has a way of strengthening its base by appealing to the needs of people at a particular moment.

He said zoning was adopted owing to agitations by some sections of the country over political domination for a long time. He said PDP saw the need to adopt zoning in order to give fair chance and opportunity to every section to have a taste of the country`s leadership.

Commenting on rumours that former President Obasanjo is putting pressure on him to step aside for President Goodluck Jonathan, Babangida explained that “whenever we meet we only discuss matters of national interest because we laid our lives for the survival of this country”.