2023: Oluwo of Iwo warns against retaining presidency in North

Oluwo of Iwo in Osun State, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, on Friday warned Nigerians against electing a northerner as the country’s president in 2023.

The monarch, who made the call in a statement signed by his press secretary, Alli Ibraheem, in Osogbo, said retention of power by the northerners would fuel greater secessionist agitations in the country.

Two of the four major presidential candidates in next year’s election are from the north.

These are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The duo of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, are from South-West and South-East respectively.

Oba Akanbi, however, appealed to Northern leaders, and relevant stakeholders to ensure that power returns to the south after the eight-year rule of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration next year.

READ ALSO: Oluwo of Iwo declares self greater than Oduduwa, Awolowo, others

The statement read: “I’m a leading natural paramount ruler from Southern Nigeria dousing tensions of the Yoruba Nation agitations. My intervention was to ensure a united Nigeria. Then, the agitators raised many issues for consideration. One of them was the conventional power rotation of the presidency.

“We hope their voice was noted for consideration. We don’t pray to see such a demonstration again. It can be curbed with political fairness ahead of the 2023 general election. Politics must not tear the country apart.

“I’m appealing to Northern traditional rulers and stakeholders to consider the Southern presidency in the interest of fairness, equity and unity. President Muhammadu Buhari of Northern extraction has almost completed two terms of eight years. In fairness, power should return to the South.

“Retaining power in the North will fuel agitations. We hope some of us who quenched the previous protest will not join should the power remain in the North.”

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