Igbo youths vow to drag APC, PDP to court if parties fail to zone presidency to south

From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

Igbo youths under the umbrella of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders(COSEYL) has vowed to take legal action against the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) if both parties does not zone its presidential ticket to the south.

The youths have maintained that it is the constitutional right of the south to produce the President of the country having waited so long for the north to complete their terms.

According to a statement by the President General of the group,Goodluck Ibem, it noted that the position is non negotiable . He said “We want our brothers from the North to know that the South is not begging for the position of the President of Nigeria, but it is our constitutional right to produce the Nigerian president come 2023.

“The same way the Nigerian government explores the oil deposits in the South as a property of the federal government, so also it is the right of Nigerians from the South to produce the president of Nigeria come 2023.

Similarly, the group has maintained that It is unconstitutional for APC, PDP And Others to zone their Presidential ticket to the north,their action he said if they insisted could only amount to treasonable felony.

He said “The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, call on the All Progressive Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other political parties in the country to zone their presidential tickets to the South because failure to do so will amount to declaration of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Federal Republic of the North which is a treasonable offense.

“It is Unconstitutional, a treasonable offense and a defiant suspension of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for anyone to throw away the rotation of the office of the President between the North and South as is encapsulated via the federal character principle in the Nigerian constitution.

“When a particular section of the country is excluded from governance and other political positions in that country, it means automatically that they have been told in plain language that they are no longer part of the country which is invariably a declaration of another country in a country.

“The Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria is not a mere book but a legal document that controls and guides the country. Those who are against the principle of zoning are against the federal character principle which is an integral part of the Nigerian constitution.

“We want our brothers from the North to know that the South is not begging for the position of the President of Nigeria, but it is our constitutional right to produce the Nigerian president come 2023.

“The same way the Nigerian government explores the oil deposits in the South as a property of the federal government, so also it is the right of Nigerians from the South to produce the president of Nigeria come 2023”.

Ibem also opined that the plot to retain power in the North after 8 years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure is purely a conspiracy to push the country into a serious political turmoil and instability.

“Presently the country is facing a serious insecurity challenge and any move to deny the south of the right to produce the next president of Nigeria in 2023 will amount to increasing the level of instability and insecurity which we might not survive as a country”. Ibem expresses fear.