2023: Southern Presidency Gathers Momentum As Ortom, Middle Belt Endorse Demand – Northern Elders Rebuff Zoning

The quest for southern presidency in 2023 gathered momentum yesterday as Benue State Governor,  Samuel Ortom, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF); and the members of the House of Representatives from the 17 Southern states backed the demand by the Southern Governors’ Forum for the next president to come from the region.  

The lawmakers also backed the governors’ rejection of certain provisions of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) passed by the National Assembly.

However, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged advocates of power rotation to exercise their discretion on which zone produces the next president, in line with the 1999 Constitution that reserves the right to sponsor candidates to contest elections for political parties only.

Speaking yesterday to ThisDay in Jos, Plateau State capital, President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, said: “We agree with them (Southern governors) fully that the president should come from the South. Given the kind of situation we find ourselves in this country, it is only good to allow fairness and equity in this nation.

“By 2023, the North would have finished serving for eight years. So, it should go to the South. It is not for us to tell the South which side it should go in the South; they can decide to give it to the South-east, South-south, or South-west. But it should go to the South. We know that they are also rational in their consideration; so they should be able to determine among themselves, which side it should go in the South.”

Pogu added that going by the exigencies of time, it would only be right to zone the presidency to the South, adding that the moment calls for seriousness in terms of equity.

Ortom commended his colleagues for their position on power rotation, saying only equity, fairness and justice could strengthen the unity of Nigeria, give all citizens a sense of belonging and reduce tensions in the country.

His Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, quoted him as describing the decision of the Southern Governors’ Forum to enact laws to ban open grazing of livestock in the region as a bold and patriotic move that will end the lingering crisis caused by armed herdsmen.

Ortom lauded his colleagues for backing their May 11, 2011 Asaba Declaration against open grazing with the resolve to legally prohibit nomadic cattle rearing

He said the resolution conformed to the global best practice of animal husbandry.

Ortom re-echoed his call on the federal government to respect the 1999 Constitution as altered on fundamental human rights, the rule of law and federal character.

He restated his commitment to speak out against injustice, quoting Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr., who stated: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Spokesperson of ACF, Mr. Emmanuel Yawe, told THISDAY that the 1999 Constitution gives only the political parties the right to sponsor candidates to contest elections in Nigeria.

“The ACF is a socio-cultural group and not a political party, therefore, it will be against the spirit and letter of the constitution if we start dictating to the parties which part of the country a presidential candidate should come from.

“However, when the parties hold their primaries and candidates emerge, we would interact with them and find out their idea about the North. In that way, we can help the Northern voters to make their choices,” Yawe stated.

Also, the members of the House of Representatives from the 17 Southern states endorsed the resolution of their governors on power rotation.

They also described the attempt to tamper with the 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 by removing the clause on electronic transmission of results as a malicious and unpatriotic act to emasculate the electoral system, undermine democracy and destabilise the country.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Southern Caucus, Hon. Victor Nwokolo, in a statement yesterday, said the alleged attempt to remove electronic transmission of results clause from the bill could not be condoned or justified under any guise whatsoever.

The lawmakers said the resolution by their governors reinforced their stance that the nation must and should exist on the pillars of justice, equity, fairness, peaceful co-existence and mutual respect, particularly in the political, economic and structural management of its national diversity.

According to them, the demand that the next president should come from the South represents the opinion of the majority of Nigerians across the board, and is in tandem with the already established rotation of presidency position between the South and the North.