A civil society group, Country First Movement, has expressed support for Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who said zoning or rotational presidency is unconstitutional.
The group argued that competence and capacity to deliver should denominate the entire space of our politics as 2023 approaches.
It admonished stakeholders in the country to place priority on competency and merit as 2023 elections approach in order to solve myriads of challenges facing the country.
It faulted the recent call by Ohaneze Ndigbo that the position of President should be zoned to South East, describing such call as unconstitutional.
In a statement on Wednesday by its Convener, Chris Nwaokobia Jnr, the group argued that the 1998 meeting at the National Universities Commission, Abuja referenced by Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo did not settle the issue of zoning and or rotational presidency.
“Yes, there were persuasive arguments on the need for zoning but no such thing was agreed upon. It is on record that a few months after, Chief Alex Ekwueme, Chief Jim Nwobodo and a few others outside the South – West zone were to contest for the Presidential Ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party against Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who was the leading candidate of the South – West in the PDP primaries. So where and when was zoning/ rotational presidency settled?,” the group asked.
“I am a Nigerian of Igbo extraction, and do not subscribe to rotational presidency and there are millions of Igbo who believe that Competency and Capacity must denominate the entire space of our politics as 2023 approaches.
“May I state without an ounce of equivocation that what those who believe in Igbo Presidency should do is deploy tact and diplomacy rather than blackmail and diatribe, because those who believe in competency and capacity as the linchpin for the President we crave come 2023 cannot and will not be cowed.
“I implore the eminent leader of Ohaneze Nd’Igbo Chief George Obizor to helm in the rabid Spokesman of the group for Ndigbo are good students of history and do not deploy falsehood, mendacity and perfidy in pursuit of any worthy cause.”
