They said the South-East being the only zone that had not produced the president in Nigeria’s 50 years as a nation, deserved to produce the president in 2015.
Twenty-one Peoples Democratic Party governors had on Thursday in Abuja endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for one term that will end in 2015 if he emerges the party‘s presidential standard bearer in the forthcoming primaries.
Prior to the governors‘ decision, some northern leaders, including governors sympathetic to Jonathan had earlier proposed the one-term option and a return of power to the North in 2015 to reduce the tension in the polity.
Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa‘ad Abubakar, were among northern leaders allegedly involved in the move considered as a political solution to the ongoing zoning controversy in the country.
But speaking to our correspondent on Friday, First Republic Minister of Communications, Chief Mbazulike Amechi; former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife; former Minister of Information, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, and former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, noted that equity demanded that it would be the turn of the Igbo in 2015.
They argued that the South-East support for Jonathan in the 2011 presidential election was based on the fact that he is from the South-South zone, which is part of the old Eastern region that has not produced a Nigerian President since 1960.
They noted that the rotation of the presidency should be based on the constitutionally recognised six geo-political zones, and not on any North-South contraption, which they said had been abolished since 1914 when the North and South were amalgamated into one Nigeria.
But Ikedife said, ”Whoever that is going in will spend only one term and the thing should come to the South-East. That is the popular position. Anyone acting to the contrary does not want equity to reign. Rotating the presidency to the South-East in 2015 will bring a sense of belonging to the nation.”
On his part, Amechi said, “Nigeria is made up of six zones. All the zones have ruled this country except the South-South and South-East Zones, which incidentally make up the former Eastern region.
“That is why we are supporting Jonathan who comes from the South-South. After Jonathan, it should be the South-East before any other rotation.
“The North ruled for 38 years; the West for 11 years and the East has just had it for one year. It is our turn. Power is not the personal property of anybody. It is the turn of the South-East.”
Nwodo said, “I have no confirmation that some Northern leaders met with Jonathan, or had any deliberation with him. For a delicate matter like this, I would not want to be involved in speculation. It is purely speculation.
“However, for the unity of this country, any section which has not tasted executive power, either governorship or the presidency, should be allowed to do so. This will only support our national unity and cohesion. We must not sacrifice our corporate existence simply because of some people‘s sentiments and selfish purposes.”
Should Jonathan fail to let the South-East have the Presidency in 2015, the former Information Minister said, “That is purely a constitutional matter. That is open. Although the president has a right to vie for a second term I am very confident he would do the right thing when the time comes. We will cross the bridge when we get there.”
Ezeife said, “By 2015 after Jonathan shall have completed one term of office, every geo-political zone in Nigeria, except one, shall have held the chief executive officer position of Nigeria for, at least, five years.
“The North-Central had held it for about 20 years. The only exception is the South-East whose son, the late Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, was killed after six months in office and buried with millions of the South-East people through a civil war.
“Politics, morality, desire for peaceful existence, equity, fairness and justice combine to indicate South-East for 2015 presidency. They have to work for it by inundating the consciousness of Nigerians with the truth that favours the zone.
“One obstacle: opponents of zoning and rotation try to kill the principle by suggesting that zoning has meaning outside the accepted geo-political zones. One such effort is the North-South contraption, which with Atiku Abubakar emergence confirms the negation of zoning.”
Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, also asked the Igbo to reject any arrangement that would scheme them out of the presidency in 2015, just as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue, said the group had been clear on its position on the rotation or zoning of the presidency.
Uwechue said equity, morality, fairness and justice were on the side of the argument of the South-East, which must be allowed to feel a sense of belonging to the nation.
He added that the support Ohanaeze was giving to Jonathan was based on the fact that he was already enjoying a term in office, and 2011 would offer him a second term.
He said should another person emerge from the North in 2011, it would be difficult to get him not to run for a second term, since the constitution allowed him to do so.
Nebo said, “It is only fair that by 2015, a citizen of Igbo extraction should be the President of Nigeria. This demand, again, is not negotiable, but the process is. This calls for an intelligent think-tank that should guide Ndigbo in their negotiation with the North and the South-South to ensure that 2015 Igbo presidency project is realised. The Igbo should reject any arrangement that denies them (or has the potential to deny them) the Presidency in 2015.”
Source:Punch
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