Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has warned political parties and stakeholders in the political circle not to be cunning with the issue of zoning and power rotation offices, especially for the presidency in the 2023 elections.
The organisation warned that doing so would further threaten the unity of Nigeria.
The SMBLF noted, that, the recent comment by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, that the party had not decided on the zoning of the presidency, with about 30 days to the presidential primary, “amounts to outright dishonesty and chicanery.”
While calling on northerners to “stop their trickery”, because “enough is enough!”, the SMBLF said, “we cannot have a northerner president for eight years and then welcome another one for another eight years or more. That is unacceptable to us.”
The organisation, therefore, strongly cautioned “all our governors, former governors, and top politicians not to accept the Vice Presidency nomination from any northern presidential candidate.”
The group was particularly reacting to a recent statement credited to the chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, Professor Ango Abdullahi, that zoning was “dead and buried.”
The SMBLF expressed these views in a statement by its chairman and national leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark; leader of Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo; President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo (Worldwide),
Prof. George Obiozor and the national president of Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus.
