The Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, said the plan by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to jettison power shift has shown that Northerners are not ready to relinquish power in 2023.
The Secretary-General of the group, Chief Sola Ebiseni, who stated this while reacting to the plan by APC to dump power shift to the southern region of the country, said the development will affect national unity and cohesion.
According to him, the development is one of the reasons behind the deliberate resistance of the Nothern leaders to restructuring.
He however said “That the APC, particularly its new National Chairman, has now jettisoned the zoning of its Presidential ticket to the South, did not come to us, in the Afenifere, as a surprise because we saw it coming and our Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has used every available platform to warn those who may be so deceived.
“Unfortunately those southerners were deceived by the fact that having swapped the party positions between the North and the South, the positions in Government such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, would be exchanged mutatis mutandi by the party.
“But they did not appreciate the attraction in the seat of the Nigerian President and the Leviathan powers at its command which are too tempting for those who believe Nigeria is their exclusive estate to surrender.”
He noted that “When the North embarked on screening Presidential aspirants in the PDP which produced Governors of only five of its 19 states, it was only sending the signals of what to expect from the APC.
“These are all permutations to keep power in the North and to them, the North is synonymous with Fulani interest.
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“One of such permutations is the recent volte-face call for the resignation of President Buhari by the Northern Elders Forum so that the Vice President may complete the remaining tenure of this miserable administration and be entitled to only one term or the lobbying of President Goodluck Jonathan that power may soon return to the north for business as usual”
He, however, said, “Nigerians should rest assured however that this country is bigger than any political party, section or group.
“Our concern in the Afenifere, speaking for the Yoruba people, and in strategic partnership with the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, is that this country, to survive as a corporate entity, must be restructured with a view to enthroning the foundational covenant of true federalism, ensuring equal opportunities for all its ethnic nationalities and citizens.
“We are not ambivalent about this or deterred a bit by the scheming of political actors, groups or even political parties.
“Our insistence that the North will not keep the office of the President after the eight years maximum tenure of Muhammadu Buhari is absolute and a non-negotiable determinant of the terms of the relationship among the constituent nationalities of the Nigerian contraption.
“The audacity of the two dominant parties in posting this gratuitous insult to the South is the expected catalyst that will end the slavish scheming of some Southern gladiators for a united front against this political affront.
“The zoning arrangement is only a milestone in the journey of restructuring Nigeria to guarantee its continued and healthy corporate existence as the country for all the component groups on equal terms and benefits”
Also Speaking on the development, a legal practitioner, Mr Wale Obanigba, said for APC to jettison and dump the zoning arrangement portends danger for the unity and national cohesion of the country.
Obanigba said that this is still unconfirmed until the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC), but said if is true, might further polarize the country.
He said “There are speculations that the All Progressive Congress(APC) is planning to jettison its zoning arrangement, and throw open the presidential ticket to all aspirants from all parts of the country.
“Though there is no specific constitutional provision in the 1999 constitution as amended that supports zoning of the Presidency, one can still draw strength from Chapter 11, specifically, section 14(3) which deals with the Federal Character Principle.
“Moreso presently, there are some school of thought who believes the country is more divided than ever in the past seven years, any attempt to keep the Presidency in the North will confirm the perception of marginalization of one part over the other.
“The country presently needs healings, unity and national cohesion, the political elites must show determination to block all the cleavages that are setting us apart, which the zoning of the President to the South is part of it.”
Credit: Nigerian Tribune