The PDP has always counted the North central zone as one of its strongholds in past presidential elections. But there are indications that things will change in the weekend's contest.

It was General Muhammadu Buhari's day in the North-central zone of the country when his weekend town hall meeting took place in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.

The North-central has been a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999. But the opposition elements in the zone put up a good showing in 1999 when the defunct All Peoples Party (APP), won in Kogi and Kwara states.

Things changed in 2003 when after the election, the PDP recaptured the two states.

But in 2011 the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), now defunct, which had Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in its rank, made appreciable impact in the North-central, in what the media tagged: "The Big Kill."

The CPC launched its government in Nasarawa, PDP's zonal headquarters, and sent the latter seeking an alternative headquarters for the North central in the neighbouring Benue State.

The CPC took off in Nasarawa State swiftly, almost after its registration in 2010. The entire leaders of the party in the state, including Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, the governor, were before their defection, all members of the PDP.

The party was embraced in the state by politicians who left the defunct ANPP in 2009, namely Senator Patrick Aga, and Engr. Reuben Audu, who later aspired for governorship, but lost the ticket to Al-Makura. The CPC won few other elective positions during the 2011 elections in Nasarawa State.

It took the defection of some PDP leaders into the CPC to strengthen the party in the state. The defectors were aggrieved by the outcome of the PDP congresses to elect delegates for the party primary polls, ahead of the general elections. In 2013, Nasarawa, which was the only state held by the opposition in the North-central, got a boost when the Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But with next Saturday's elections, it appears the party will gain more seats. Already, the split in the ranks of the PDP in Benue and Plateau raised the hopes of the APC and its presidential candidate ahead of the polls. In Benue, there are grievances that the governor chased away popular candidates of the PDP like Barnabas Gemade and Samuel Ortom from the party.

The emergence of Terhemen Tarzoor as the PDP gubernatorial candidate has created divisions within the party which benefits the APC, mainly because of the defection of some top personalities from the PDP to the APC. In Plateau, the lack of respect for the principle of rotation by the PDP leaders in the state made many to defect from the party to the APC while there are many others who have not left the fold of the PDP but are clearly working to see that the APC has an edge in the elections, possibly to teach the PDP a lesson. Politicians like the former deputy governor, Pauline Tallen, and PDP chieftain, Dan Manjang, left the PDP while the likes of Fidelis Tapgun, Victor Lar and others who contested for the PDP governorship ticket have not hidden their disenchantment with the party.

In Kogi State, too, the disagreement within the ranks of the PDP has added to the popularity of the APC.

While the state is not having its governorship election this year, the crises generated in the process of producing candidates for the other elective offices have yet to settle.

The failure to maintain the principle of zoning in the Kogi West senatorial zone, for example, has created problem for the PDP.

The people in the zone have always maintained a zoning principle which ensures that the seat rotates among the local governments in the area. There is a gentleman's agreement that each senator should serve for only a term. But the retention of the ticket by the incumbent, Smart Adeyemi, has caused the other local governments to threaten to turn their backs on the PDP.

But nowhere in the North- central zone is the APC sure of a reversal of fortune both in the presidential and governorship elections than in Niger State where it is expected that the APC will sweep the votes due to the support the masses have for Buhari and the crack in the PDP. Essentially, the crack was made possible by the allegedly selfish handling of the gubernatorial primary poll, leading to the defection of the deputy governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, to the APC.

Hence, from the projections of analysts, the APC presidential candidate, Buhari, is likely to win in Kwara, Nasarawa, Kogi Niger and Benue states while he is likely to put up a good fight in Plateau.

Buhari at the town hall meeting asked the people of North-central to remain committed to change and work for the APC during this weekend's polls.

The presidential candidate was supported by officers of the North-central wing of the party, as well as the governorship candidates of the party in Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, and Kwara states.

Buhari told Nigerians not to make the mistake of voting the PDP in the forthcoming elections in order not to aggravate the nation's problems. He said 16 years on, the PDP only proved it wasted Nigeria's time and resources.

"Our Nigeria Airways, shipping line, railways, refineries, all collapsed under 16 years of PDP rule in the country. Nigeria goes to import fuel for consumption abroad, trucks are killing our people on our roads, on daily basis."

He, however, called on the thousands of APC supporters who welcomed him to vote APC in all the elections for improved social amenities and good life in the country.

He stated that if elected as the president of the country, refineries, roads, agriculture, among others, would be revamped.

He tasked the supporters of the party in the country to ensure that they obtain and safeguard their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Earlier, the state governor, Al-Makura, had described Buhari as an amiable mentor, disciplined, accountable, sincere and a role model, urging people of the North-central to vote massively for Buhari during the election.

He said: "We are here to appreciate the people of North- central Zone for the support they have given to Buhari since 2011. It is evident that the track records of Buhari qualified him to be elected to liberate the nation."

Representative of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Bukola Saraki, urged Nigerians who are desirous of change to vote for Buhari and all other APC candidates during the elections, saying: "A vote for Buhari would end insurgency, poverty, and unemployment and build trust and transparency in governance.

"Nigeria does not need a president that underestimated Boko Haram, Nigerians do not want a president that would deceive them, a president that would spend N32 billion dollars on fuel subsidy. I challenge the people of the North-central Zone to vote Buhari for change."

Senator Sidi Ali, a former lawmaker who represented the FCT between 2007 and 2011, urged Buhari to meet with the people of Abuja, saying they yearn to meet with him to show their solidarity with the change movement. Alhaji Zakari Idde, the APC national vice chairman, North-central, averred that Buhari would win in the North-central Zone.

He said: "We are waiting for weekend, when we will roll out drums and beat them loud in celebration of the first ever opposition victory at the presidential poll."

He said that the North-central, which used to be a stronghold of the PDP, has now deserted the PDP. He spoke with Daily Trust during the North-central town hall meeting of Buhari in Lafia, weekend.

"He called the PDP "a party of the past," adding: "The North-central people have opened their eyes now to realise they have been cheated, 16 years on, and made themselves part of the movement driving the change slogan in the country at large."

Idde said the clock ticks not only to March 28, "it ticks to victory, the day change will arrive for the people of this great nation, several decades on." Although President Gooodluck Jonathan of the PDP won in five of the six states of the zone, namely, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Kwara, and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2011, Idde insists that the PDP has a date with defeat this weekend.

He said mobilisation for the town hall meeting brought the APC in the zone face-to-face with the reality on the ground.

"It is obvious from the outings and the interactions with the people of the zone that they are done with the PDP which introduced misery in their lives and has now embarked on another journey of making same promises we know will end up in the trash can, should they win.

"This time, the people will win through their change movement. The people have come to the realisation that their country is in a serious mess, and needs cure with the hand of change. It has been 16 years the locust wasted. This time, it is the farmers' time, the time to chase out the locust so that the next harvest will find the way into the people's granary."