Southeast should produce next President- Ohanaeze Ndigbo

The youth gentry of the Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo have said that it will be fair and just for the Southeast zone to produce Nigeria’s next president.

The Ohanaeze youths made this call on Thursday through their youth leaders who held that for Nigeria to experience peace, Buhari should hand over to a Southeast candidate in 2023, as it is a glaring fact that it is the turn of the southeast in 2023.

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The argument surrounding the formula to produce Nigeria’s next president seems to have been thrown wide open by comments made by the President’s nephew, that the next president should be elected on the ground of competence, not zoning.

As a reaction to the ongoing debate, the All Progressives’ Congress, as well as the Arewa Consultative Forum have quickly moved to dismiss the view that the president is a product of the zoning system as against his competence to do the job

Delving into the argument, the former scribe of the ACF, Mr Anthony Sani refuted the ongoing claims

“I find it curious when some groups like Ohanaeze would say that President Buhari was a product of national consensus on zoning or rotation of position of presidents to the north. The fact of history says no to that” he said.

The Ohanaeze President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, speaking through his media aide, Chief Emeka Atamah maintained that the Southeast is perfectly poised to produce Nigeria’s next president

“All I know is that it is the turn of the South where we have abundant competent individuals who can steer the ship of this country, particularly among Ndigbo”.

Mr Anthony further argued that the argument surrounding the call for zoning seems to be faulted by the fact that about 90% of candidates who contested against President Muhammadu Buhari hail from the South

“In 2019, of about 76 presidential candidates, about 70 were southerners,. All these shows there is no national consensus on rotation and zoning that is binding on political parties”.

In his rebuttal, the President of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra State, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, said the Mr Anthony’s comments bothered on selfishness

 “Why are they no longer thinking towards rotation? Is it because the position is coming to the south? Is that not a sign of being selfish?

With the 2023 presidential election edging closer, there seems to be increased evidence that the Ndigbo could be launching a major bid for the presidency come 2023.