2023: Sowore Knocks Adebanjo Over Call For South East Presidency

Human rights activist and presidential hopeful, Omoyele Sowore has slammed Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo for his support for South East presidency.

The publisher of Sahara Reporters also rejected Adebanjo’s call for presidential aspirants from the South West and South South to shelve their presidential ambitions.

Recall that the Afenifere leader had stated that it is the turn of the South East to produce the next Nigerian president, in the spirit of fairness and justice.

Speaking at the Greater Nigeria Conference (GNC) in Abuja on Monday, Adebanjo urged southern politicians who are not from the South East to also shelve their presidential aspirations.

In an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, Sowore said the call for South East presidency is an attempt to divide Nigerians along the ethnic lines, adding that only Nigerians should determine who leads them in 2023.

The presidential aspirant claimed that the call by some politicians for political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South is undemocratic and should not be encouraged.

Sowore said competency and great character should be parameters to choosing the next president in 2023 and not zoning.

He added that an Igbo presidency will not make a difference if the candidate is not the right person to lead.

He said: “Each time there is an election cycle, the political elite in Nigeria who makes this decision, which is undemocratic, will throw a bone at the Nigerian people. And their singsong this time around is that they want an Igbo to become the president. It’s not a decision that was taken with consent and the affirmation of the Nigerian people.

“If you go to Igboland today, they are not even interested in the elections. How do you tell IPOB members that it’s their turn to be president when they are agitating for a referendum and self-determination. Nobody went to the Yorubas to say who they wanted. Nobody went to Nigerians.

“All Nigerians are entitled to good governance and progress. An Igbo man becoming the president will not make a difference if he’s not the right person to lead. We should zone the presidency to the geographical area or intellectual area known as competence and great character.

“It’s a very divisive strategy to make people believe that if you bring an Igbo president, suddenly Nigeria will become El-Dorado.”

This article was originally published on Nigeria News