From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Youth leaders from the ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt have declared support for a president of South East extraction in 2023.
President General and leader of delegation of youth leaders of Middle Belt, to a one-day strategic partnership meeting, Timothy Hembaor, disclosed this to newsmen, at the weekend in Enugu.
Hembaor said the Middle Belt was preparing for the 2023 presidency but decided to drop the ambition and back the South East after considering the magnitude of injustice meted to the Igbo in Nigeria.
He said their region is supporting the South East with the hope that the zone would back them after eight years when power should return to the North again.
Hembaor, who said a president of South East origin in the next general election is the only antidote to Nigeria’s multi-faceted problems, noted that 2023 will be a defining moment for Nigeria whether it would remain as one country or not.
With 390 ethnic nationalities that boast of over 37 million registered voters, he said the Middle Belt could determine the outcome of any presidential election in Nigeria.
National Coordinator of National Movement for President of South East Extraction, 2023, Godwin Obasi, urged Nigerians to work together and rescue the country from plunging into avoidable crisis.
According to him, 2023 affords Nigeria a golden opportunity to right the wrongs of over 50 years.
“Let us know we are the same people, let us know we are one Nigeria; let us love one another.
“The more South East is held down, the more our nation would be in a quagmire situation, unable to make any meaningful progress. That the only solution to having a united and prosperous Nigeria is in the spirit of equity, justice and fair-play in 2023.”