Group Insist on southeast President
Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, a group, the United for Better Nigeria Initiative, UBNI has called on all political parties in Nigeria to zone their presidential tickets to South East come 2023.
In a statement issued by the National Coordinator of the advocacy group, Mrs. Nkolika Mkparu-Okeke, she said the need for a South-East President is long overdue and therefore it’s necessary to meet that need.
Mkparu-Okeke was reacting to the report of the committee of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP which suggested that the presidential ticket should be opened to all zones.
She lamented that the South East has been marginalised, noting that the South East and North-Eastern parts of Nigeria have not been honoured to serve as president of the country while stressing that the South East has not also been a presidential flag-bearer for a major political party.
According to her, “It is, therefore, a worthy course to adhere to the conventional method of zoning by the PDP such that a candidate from the southeast becomes the next president of our dear nation. This will bring about cohesion and further bind the cords of unity that have brought us this far as a nation and which is greatly needed at this juncture in the life of our Country.
“It is a fact that the nation at a time like this, is experiencing too much divisiveness and this must not be allowed to fester on as the southeastern part of the country has seen unparalleled marginalisation at its peak. Indeed, the South East region has viable and noteworthy potential candidates from all walks of life with requisite pedigree, politically and otherwise,” she said.
The statement further reads “UBNi believes that a president from South East, with requisite calibre and discipline, will not only bring about the needed unity for this country but will also bring about economic prosperity, promote local culture, and transform Nigerian trade, both locally and internationally.
“We advise that other political parties including the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, zone their presidential flag bearers to the southeast because it is the right thing to do and it is a way of compensating the zone for their longstanding dedication and unalloyed support garnered in previous elections including the 2019 presidential elections.”
The UBNI further noted that if political parties give their presidential tickets to the South-East in the coming election, it would bring to an end, the rising concerns about marginalisation. It added that it will give its support to any political party that would give a Southeasterner its flagbearer for the race.
