Group insists on Southern presidency

From Fred Itua, Abuja

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been urged to give its 2023 presidential ticket to a Christian from Southern Nigeria in order to create a balance in the country.

A group, Nigeria Equity Group, stated this, yesterday, while condemning emergence of former vice president Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It wondered why another northern Muslim would be given the ticket after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s time in office.

National convener of the group, Dr. Emeka Nwosu and national secretary, Mohammed Mubarak, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja said for a country as complex as Nigeria, retaining power in one part of the country would not promote unity.

They promised to mobilise for the APC nationwide and ensure that the PDP is not returned to power for ignoring the complex and diverse nature of Nigeria.

The statement read: “We wish to respond to the emergence of the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 presidential election. Alhaji Atiku, a northern Muslim defeated a plethora of PDP presidential aspirants in a contentious primary election in Abuja to lead the PDP charge for the general elections.

“We wish to draw attention to the fact that the Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) has campaigned vigorously for equity, fairness and inclusion in our body polity. In our several interventions over the years, we have appealed to the major political parties to be mindful of the complex heterogeneous Nigerian society and to work out a political solution that will be fair, inclusive and equitable to all.”