From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

A pressure group, Coalition of Democrats for Equity and Justice (CODEJ), has appealed to Nigerians to support the emergence of an Igbo person as President of Nigeria in the 2023 general election for unity and stability of the country.

Executive Secretary of the group Ambassador Dubem Mbagwu who made the call in Abuja, said an Igbo president would provide good leadership for the good of all Nigerians so as to move Nigeria in a positive direction.

While harping on the unity of the country, CODEJ observed that the ‘Yoruba have had a fair share of power since 1999, with eight interrupted years of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who would be completing eight years as Vice President in 2023 under Buhari’s presidency. It will be unfair, unjust and unpatriotic as well as against the national spirit and interest to deny Ndigbo their own opportunity and pretend as if they do not exist as part of the Nigerian nation.’

The group further suggested numerous reasons why a presidential candidate from that part of the country is most ideal at this time of the nation’s development.

‘Since General Aguiyi Ironsi’s unfortunate demise in 1966, no person of South Eastern extraction has governed Nigeria. 1998, the northern Nigerian political establishment, which dominated the national power structure, sensed the imminence of an irrecoverable national collapse as a result of the deepening sense of alienation that the Yoruba people felt on account of the unjustified invalidation of the June 12, 1993, presidential election that MKO Abiola was poised to win, which was made even worse by his death in solitary confinement for demanding the legal recognition of his electoral victory.

‘When constitutional rule was restored in 1999, northern politicians and statesmen came to a consensus that the only way to keep Yoruba people from breaking away from Nigeria—or from being perpetual thorns in the flesh of the body politic—was to concede the presidency to them. That was remarkably patriotic and far-sighted.

‘We have a similar moment now. The Igbo are almost in the same spot that the Yoruba were in in 1998. There is mass resentment among them. Several of them feel emotionally disconnected from Nigeria. And we all know why. This can be reversed with the election of an Igbo person as president. If we truly cherish Nigeria’s continuity as a country, we can’t afford to allow a huge section of it to feel so disaffected that it wants to break away from the union.

‘Our concerned is that as far as the presidency of Nigeria is concerned, the president ought to rotate and moved to the South. Then when it comes to the south, we now begin to look at what is equitable and fair within the south. What is fair is that the South -South has produced former President Goodluck Jonathan, in the South West, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has done eight straight years, and it now has Vice President Yemi Osibanjo.

‘So looking at what is fair and equitable, we need to look at the area in the South that has not have a shot at the presidency because of certain reasons and that is the South East. It is just the South East that has not tested the presidency of this country. The South East have credible and well qualified candidates to govern this country. Nigeria needs to give the south East a level playing ground to show-case their potentials at the presidential level

‘The South-Easterners have contributed greatly to the development of Nigeria in terms of infrastructure, intellect and business. It was time to give an Igbo person, the chance to build Nigeria to the standard God want

‘To my mind, zoning is like an unseen cord that binds this nation together as it has been demonstrated since the return of democracy. The presidency has rotated among the three major tribes except the Igbos, so for oneness, equity and fair play, the South East deserves the presidency this present dispensation.’

Insisting that a president of Igbo extraction would guarantee the country’s peace and stability, the group argued that Ndigbo’s patient to wait for over 60years of independence was enough proof of their belief and commitment in Nigeria.

According to Mbagwu, a president of southeastern extraction will ensure political balance and a sense of belonging to the region. He said Nigeria must create a political equilibrium that accommodates all the regions.

He pointed that it is only the Southeast that has not had a shot at the presidency since the return of democracy in 1999. That history, the principle of fairness, morality and ‘all logical reasoning’ justify the demand for an Igbo president.

Mbagwu added that the issue of Igbo presidency cannot be a matter of right but something that should be actualised through negotiations and ‘not a do-and-die affair’.

Meanwhile, the group commended the National Assembly for the innovative provisions in the new Electoral Act, which he said, has addressed the shortfalls that have inhibited credible elections in Nigeria.

The new Act provides a legal framework that empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to deploy technological solutions such as the Smart Card Reader (SCR) or other technological device in its conduct of elections and results transmission. It improves voting procedure for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and allows INEC to review declaration of election result made under duress. The new Act also improves the timelines for the conduct of elections and creates adequate time frames for fulfilling various requirements and activities defined in the Electoral Act.

The group however, frowned at attempts to expunge the provisions of section 84(12) of the Act, saying doing so would be inimical to the electoral process.