May 04, (THEWILL) -The Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Ali Ndume, has said that a Southern Presidency is “inevitable” in the 2023 general elections.
Ndume made the remarks on Tuesday, when he featured on Channels Television’s programme, ‘Politics Today.’
The lawmaker, while responding to earlier calls by the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) speak out on its decision on zoning, insisted that the 2023 Presidency be allocated to the Southern area, which includes the geopolitical zones of the South-West, South-East and South-South.
THEWILL reports that Akeredolu, Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, had said the APC would cause self-inflicted problems, if it failed to zone the presidency to the South decisively in 2023.
However, responding to questions on the 2023 presidency, Ndume said, “I am a Nigerian, I am from the north and I believe in justice, equity and fairness.
“What Akeredolu said is my advice to the party. Even if they delayed it a bit, it doesn’t change the position; it is an inevitable one because the national chairman, in principle, not in writing was agreed from the north after the south had been the chairman. And as you can see, nobody contested the chairmanship of the APC from the south.
“In 2015, when it was also agreed in principle that the presidency should come from the north, nobody from the South-West, South-South went into the contest. It’s not because there were no capable hands here, but (it was) based on this principle. So, this time around, I don’t think that should change.
“The principle of federal character is a constitutional matter. In fact, federal character is more encompassing than zoning; you zone based on federal character.
“If APC zones it and it should zone it to the south, then other parties can zone it to wherever they want and it is Nigerians that would choose whoever they want.
“Personally, I feel we will be better off with a President coming from the South. The current President comes from the North and if you look at it analytically, the South benefited more. So, if the President comes from the South, we (the North) will benefit more, just as we did previously under (then President Goodluck) Jonathan.”
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