- * Urges Ndigbo To Be Vigorous, Persuasive, And Strive For Agreement With Other Zones
By Philip Ivoke (In Abuja)
Eminent statesman and frontline presidential aspirant in the 2023 Presidential election, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said at the weekend, that no section of Nigeria can win the presidency without the support of other zones.
Anyim spoke at an event in Abuja on Saturday organized by a pan-Nigerian political group known as United For Better Nigeria Initiative, with the theme: 'The Imperative of Rotational Presidency'.
The former Senate President explained that though the quest for a president of Igbo extraction is not out of place and not also a legal right, an equitable one, which must be pursued with vigorous persuasion and consensus building with other regions.
He said, "The other angle to this perspective is whether the zoning of the presidency to the South- East geo-political zone is a legal right, the answer is no, but morally there is merit in such a demand. This expectation canvases that the Federal Character Principle has assumed legal backing. Just like the rotation of the presidency is not captured in the Constitution, and neither is the geopolitical zoning arrangement".
Senator Anyim who was also a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation in tex-President Goodluck Jonathan administration, however, called on the group which is advocating for a power shift to South East to double their effort by strategically engaging other Nigerians through advocacy and dialogue on the need for power to shift to the South East.
Anyim pointed out that in democracy, power is not given in the asking but through deliberate and strategic engagement for mass support. He further stated that the journey of building an equitable society is usually a challenging and tough one, but that many nations have arrived safely.
Nigeria, he said, must continue to deepen and consolidate the gains of the nation's democracy so as to meet the yearnings and aspirations of all Nigerians. NNL.
