From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Sani Yerima, has said the North would back a credible candidate from any region in the 2023 presidential election, adding that the agitation for power rotation was unconstitutional.
Yerima, who spoke recently at a two-day conference organised by Arewa New Agenda, in Abuja, noted that the preferred presidential candidate must meet the demands of the Northern region.
His word: “Political rotation of power is not about people coming from the north or south. Many people are ignorant of political dispensation in this country. We are practicing democracy.
“And democracy is about political parties. You can see that we have many political parties APC, PDP, APGA and many other parties. Each of them has a candidate.
“So, whether you are from the North or the South, the Arewa New Agenda is saying that the agenda for the North is for all times.
“But this is a different situation. It is not about power rotation. It is about looking at candidates that we believe will ensure the problems of the North are resolved.
“I am a democrat. And I believe in constitutional democracy. Our constitution does not recognise anything called rotation.
“We are looking at capacity and experience of the people who are struggling to rule us so that we can decide who among them is the best candidate.
“I think I am among the people who think we should not talk about power rotation. If you talk about that you will go on and on. Even rotation between North and South, you will talk about my zone and region, which is the Northwest.
“Arewa New Agenda is an initiative organised by forum of people from various discipline in the North in order to come up with an agenda that will be presented to politicians aspiring to be president of this country.
“We believe that we should come to together and say these are our problems and solutions that we are proposing to a candidate we are going to support,” he said.
Coordinator/Convener of ANA, Ahmad Abubakar MoAllahyidi, said the conference was organised for stakeholders to brainstorm on how to address the myriad of problems bedeviling the region.
He said: “The Arewa New Agenda posits that it is time to restore our industries, put our people back to work, fight poverty that is ravaging the north and open doors of opportunity for our youth to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace;
“To reclaim the Nigerian heritage to which we are major stakeholders and reaffirm the fundamental truth that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, which remains the unchallengeable fact.
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that the north is the place where all things are possible, if there are those who still wonder if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still question the power of our ability to determine the course of history, today we unite to take the critical step to show our capacity and tenacity to saving the North and by extension Nigeria,” he said.