South East Not Qualified For 2023
OpenLife Nigeria reports that the agitations by South East stakeholders for supports in the 2023 presidential race may not have been well received up north especially in Kano which produces the highest number of votes in any presidential election in Nigeria.
On Friday during a conversation on Arise TV, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC and former Special Adviser to the Kano State Governor, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, said the South East is not qualified for the 2023 presidential contest.
Tanko Yakasai who is the son of elder statesman, Second Republic Presidential Aide and founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai emphasized that the scorecard of Ndigbos on the scale of contributions to the growth of APC technically disqualifies the region from enjoying the supports of the north.
He explained that the Southwest, as opposed to the Southeast deserves the party’s presidential ticket.
According to him, “This is a very crucial issue not just for the APC but for Nigerians and the political stability of the country. I am of the view that, particularly in the APC, that power should rotate to the South and even in the South, I am of the opinion that the candidate of the APC should come from the Southwest in particular. And I have my reasons for saying that.
“The reason is simple. I know what the southwest in particular contributed to the victory of the APC in the 2015 elections. Even in the formation of the party, they contributed immensely and even if you look at the major contenders in the APC, they are from the Southwest.
“So, I see no reason the rest of the party should not put its weight behind any candidate of their choice from the Southwest in particular in order to produce the next candidate for the APC in the general elections.
“I think what has heated the polity recently is the remark by the Southern Governors Forum which they have made twice but which is unconstitutional. Apart from one Governor from the North who has indicated his interest, there has not been any such indication from the APC as a party that it wants to retain power in the North and that is why I fault the Southern Governors. That gentleman agreement has been there since 1999 and I see no reason it should not be upheld in 2023.
“I am saying that for APC, it has to go to the Southwest. I am a northerner, I know where we came from in the elections in 2015. So, I see no reason the APC as a party should not support any of the candidates from the Southwest because they are the biggest contributors to the victory of APC.
Tanko Yakasai further faulted the Southeast agitation on the grounds of disunity saying “In the Southeast, they keep agitating individually but they have not come together collectively to show a unified front to the rest of the country that they are indeed ready for this presidency. “There is no unity among the governors, there is no unity among the political elite and there is no unity among the followers.
“And unfortunately for them, they do not have the numbers which means that they need the support of one or two regions,” he stated.
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