The immediate-past Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), Anthony Sani, has advised advocates of South-East Presidency to intensify lobby of other geo-political zones to realise their ambition rather than resorting to threat and intimidation.
Sani who called on the pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo to respect the rules of democracy maintained that what the South-East failed to get in the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), should not be forced down the throat of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC).
In a chat with newsmen, the ACF helmsman said, “Ohanaeze should leave President Muhammadu Buhari alone and concentrate on its winning game plan for 2023. And in doing so, there should be no threats and intimidation but persuasions. This is because democracy is a game of number and of wits”.
He continued: “When I read reports that Ohanaeze has called on President Buhari to concede the Presidency to Igbos of South-East or Ikwerre, of Rivers State, in the South-South come 2023, I wondered upon the wisdom of such call and appeal. This is because Nigeria practices multiparty democracy through which individual and group aspirations find expression.
“The Presidency is never given by a serving President precisely because the Presidency is not at his beck and call. What is more, the South-East and South-South regions are the hub of the main opposition party, (PDP), which have called President Buhari names that are not his own.
“And because democracy thrives on justice, liberty and common decency, and is a matter of collective mission and not individual enterprise, the President is not at liberty to concede the Presidency to any group of his choice undemocratically, let alone to a group that is not predominantly in the ruling party.
“Ohanaeze cannot feign ignorance of the fact that our democracy is not hinged on ethnic nationalism but a majority rule. And so by conceding the Presidency to Igbos in South-East or to their kith and kin in South South through affirmative action, the President would unwittingly be promoting cleavages of the nation along ethnic lines”, he stated.
Recall that some Northern governors elected on the platform of the APC, at the weekend, agreed to back the South to produce the party’s flag bearer in the 2023 Presidential election.
