North will support candidate from any part of the country – CNG
The Northern Elders Forum, (NEF) has rejected the position of the Southern governors that the 2023 presidency should be zoned to the southern part of the country.
The Forum maintained that the region should not be compelled to accede to a democratically elected office that can be sought by any person irrespective of where he comes from.
The position of NEF came barely 24 hours after the Southern governors insisted that the south must produce the next president in 2023.
The Forums position was made in a statement by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.
The Forum observed that as far as the North was concerned, the idea that it would be threatened, intimidated or blackmailed into yielding an office that ought to be settled democratically is not acceptable.
Thus the NEF sees the decision of the southern governors as an expression of sentiment that could be best discussed within a political process.
The Forum noted that the way it should be done was that the southern governors should influence their parties to zone the presidency to southern states and then work to convince Nigerian voters from all parts of the country to vote for that candidate.
He opined that the democratic rights of Nigerian citizens to vote for a candidate cannot be snatched by threats or intimidation, stressing that politicians were becoming very lazy to think they will be given leadership in a manner that suggests an ultimatum.
In a related development, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), while replying the Southern governors, have said the North will support candidates from any part of the country.
In a statement issued yesterday by the CNG spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman told the Southern Governors Forum that it would only support a candidate that will unite the country irrespective of where he or she comes from.
This was even as it said the North will not be stampeded into making decisions around rotating the presidency in 2023.
The CNG also called on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to disband all militias and armed groups in Nigeria by resort to the use of force if needs be, to ensure that no group has the capacity to challenge the state in its prerogative to maintain law and order and protect citizens lives and properties.
