The Oyo State APC Chairman, Chief Akin Oke, has said anyone who claims there was no agreement for power shift when merger plans were being worked out for the party in 2014 is “either playing the ostrich or exposing his personal foible.”
He added, “Moral, social and political sense would guide any sincere person to the path of honour which revolves around ensuring that everyone is given due sense of belonging and rights to be part of the Nigerian project as bona fide citizens. Above all, things will work out well for us in the South-West when the time comes in 2023 because we remain the unifying factor in Nigeria.”
Also, a former senator, Olufemi Lanlehin, said whether written or oral, the sanctity of an agreement must be kept, adding that a man’s word should be his bond.
Lanlehin, who represented Oyo South Senatorial district in the 7th Senate, said, “The zoning arrangement is a system adopted by major Nigerian political parties to address the heterogeneous and diverse nature of the Nigerian society and polity. The APC at inception agreed to go by this arrangement, with the north taking the first shot and the south the next.
“I believe very strongly in the sanctity of an agreement, whether written or oral. The popular saying is that a man’s word should be his bond. It is in the interest of the APC, the polity and Nigerian society that this arrangement is respected and continued.”
A former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Osun State, Mr Sunday Akere, also said power must shift to the south in the spirit of fairness. “Fair’s fair. If a section of the country holds power for eight years, other sections should have a feel of power too. I am in support of power coming to the South in 2023,” he said.
He added, “If some people like Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Babatunde Fashola can speak about an existing agreement or understanding and Governor Kayode Fayemi can allude to the same on a national network, those of us that are outside will have nothing to do than believe there is an agreement.
The National Publicity Secretary, Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation, Mr Adedayo Adeboye, said power must not only return to the South, but to the South-West in 2023.
The Publicity Secretary of the APC in Bayelsa State, Doifie Buokoribo, said, “We are dealing with a political question, and the presidency shifting to the south of Nigeria is the proper thing to do. But it is part of an unwritten elite consensus that after eight years of the presidency in the North, it goes to the South.
A media aide to former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Sam Onwuemeodo, said Okorocha believes people from other parts of the country also have the right to aspire to the presidency but that on the basis of equity, Igbo should be given a chance.
He said “Okorocha believes in the unity of this country. He doesn’t believe in Igbo presidency. Rather he believes in a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
Similarly, founding members of the APC in the South-East, also said power should revert to the south in 2023.
Chief Emmanuel Eneukwu, who is a former National Vice Chairman of APC, South-East, said, “I believe that power should return to the South in 2023. And when it comes to the South, it is South-East.”
Chief Peter Ede also said, “I think it is not just the turn of the South, it should come to the South-East,” while the Chairman of APC in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, reinforced the same position. “We believe it is the turn of Ndigbo of South-East extraction; that is the only way for fairness and equity. That is one way to achieve the unity of this country.
In Ekiti State, the Acting Deputy State Chairman of the party, Sola Elesin, said on Friday that it was sacrosanct for power to return to the south. “The agreement was that when the north rules for eight years, it would be the turn of the south. Definitely, we are optimistic that power will shift to the South in 2023,” he added.
The former acting Chairman of APC in Cross River State, John Ochala, also said the Presidency should be zoned to the South-East. “Politically, it is expedient that it is zoned to the South.”
Meanwhile, the APC caretaker committee Chairman in Delta State, Mr Jones Erue, said there was no zoning arrangement in the party, adding however that the south should produce the next President.
Erue told one of our correspondents on Friday, “Yes, I agree with Yerima, there was no such agreement. Truly speaking, I’m a man of truth, I don’t believe in sentiment; there was no arrangement in APC. However, I believe that the best person to be the President of Nigeria should come from the South.” (Punch)
