The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has insisted on its stand for a Southern presidency come 2023.
This is as the group also urged Nigerians to reject the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 elections.
Ohanaeze accused the major opposition party of jettisoning zoning arrangement before its May 28 presidential primary.
In a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, on Sunday,, Ohanaeze said the PDP had breached its own constitution and should not be trusted with power.
The group added that PDP’s insistence on another northern president would plunge Nigeria into more chaos.
The statement read: “Anyone who breached the gentleman arrangement by our patriots for a rotational presidency between the North and the South as enshrined in our consciousness to balance equity, inclusiveness, national peace, and stability of the country does not mean well for Nigeria.
“2023 is the turn of a Southern presidency and attempts by the opposition party to ride on ethnicity and religious predispositions to get power will plunge Nigeria into the abyss of disintegration.
“Atiku Abubakar’s desperation is not healthy for the Northern region as the North has seen total neglect, poverty and insecurity.
“It’s only a southern presidency that will unify the country and end the insecurity challenges in Nigeria, not Atiku Abubakar.
“Nigerians were enthusiastic about how to dethrone incompetence in governance with a strong, competent and healthy president in 2023.
“The nightmarish episode of a sitting president always on medical tourism in Europe, and Asia must end with President Buhari in 2023.
“PDP and Atiku should remain in opposition until they are ready to accept that the principle of zoning in PDP’s constitution should be respected and obeyed before seeking power in the future.”
