2023: South-East ripe for Nigeria’s presidency – Shehu Sani

A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, on Tuesday added his voice to the growing demand for zoning of the presidency to the South-East in 2023.

Sani, who featured in a programme on Channels Television programme, Morning Show, urged all political parties, particularly the All Progressive Congress (APC) to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East next year.

He stressed that zoning of the presidency to the region would preserve Nigeria’s unity.

Sani said: “Since 1999, the North had ruled Nigeria twice in Umoru Yar’Adua and Mohammadu Buhari and the South-West, eight years in Olusegun Obasanjo; while the South-South had six years through Goodluck Jonathan. Therefore, morality, equity and sense of equal recognition demand that the South-East be allowed to also have a stake in the presidency of Nigeria.

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“You cannot continue to promote marginalisation of a section of the people and expect protests and agitation to stop. If my own part of the country is marginalised, I will join the protest too.

“If you have a system that takes care of educationally backward states, why can’t the same system be applied to politically disadvantaged regions like the South-East. If one part of a country can be given special consideration on quota basis why can’t the same consideration be given to another part that has been denied an opportunity to have a shot at the presidency all this while?”

The ex-lawmaker argued that the greatest legacy Buhari would leave behind was to cede power to the South-East next year.

By: Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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