2023: Northern Groups Endorse Igbo Presidency, Describe Atiku As Agent Of Disunity

A coalition of over 45 northern groups under the umbrella of Concerned Arewa Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria has insisted that an Igbo man should emerge as president in 2023.

KanyiDaily had reported that a former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar had officially declared his interest to contest in the 2023 presidential election at the International Conference Centre in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday in Kaduna, the northern groups’ spokesman, Abdulsalam Mohammed, said any northerner contesting for the presidency will be regarded as an agent of disunity and enemy of the nation.

Mohammed insisted that a southerner must succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in the interest of justice, equity fairness, and national unity.

The group threatened to work against northern presidential candidates, saying “our hope, dreams, and prayers are for an Igbo man to emerge as president in 2023.”

The group said, “The Concerned Arewa Civil Society Organisations of Nigerian is a group of over 45 reputable Civil Society groups from within the Northern extraction with voting capacity cut across all the polling units, wards and Local Government Areas in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“There is wise saying “what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” It’s important, though it’s not law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we have to respect our integration, brotherhood and unity.

“It’s for the sake of our national unity that we are standing today and declaring that power should be rotated to South for the spirit of oneness, equity, justice, fairness and equal opportunities.

“We urge all political parties to zone their Presidential candidates to the south. Any party that refuses to do so, we are going to mobilized our teaming youth and campaign against it.

“We, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria, in the spirit of building our desired nation and our continued existence as an entity, also not jettisoning the principles of power balance and fairness, call for the total support of presidency to the southern part of the country.

“We have no other country than Nigeria and we will not sit down and see our country disintegrate due to the selfish desires of some individuals that think presidency is the birth right of a particular region. Any Northerner contesting President will be regarded as agent of disunity and enemy of the nation.

“The South-West which is also a beneficiary of the benevolence of Nigerians who supported their first bid for an eight-year presidency and vice-presidency for another 8 years should also be willing to relinquish the position in the spirit togetherness and nation building.

“Our hope, dreams and prayers are for an Igbo man to emerge as President in 2023, more preferably, a private sector player, a technocrat and a de-tribalized Nigerian with rich experience in managing economy for peace, progress and prosperity.

“We have agreed to melt their interest in one port and insist on power to be transferred to Southern Part of the Country in 2023 and we call on our Southern people to drive this opportunity and support their own and also respect power rotation after 8 years.

‘We reaffirmed our previous stand that we won’t support any Northerner as Successor of President Mohammed Buhari in 2023 for the sake of National Unity.

“We know power comes from God and God never allow injustice, greed and selfishness to rule our land. We will make or mar any candidate who has the unity of Nigeria at heart and vice versa.

KanyiDaily recalls that Atiku Abubakar dismissed insinuations that he was working against the policy of the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East.