2019 Elections: Middle Belt, Southern Nigeria Unite for Common Agenda

Kehinde Lawal

Peoples from the Southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt have resolved to work together to pick a common presidential candidate for the 2019 elections and ensure the restructuring of the country for peace and liberty.

The movement, Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum for Development, (SNMFD) after its national conference held in Lagos, said the people from the two critical sections of the country have shared history, fears and aspirations and urged them to unite behind a presidential candidate.

It said the unity is necessary to forge harmony with other ethnic groups and social groupings in the country.

The group added that the best way to tackle the challenge of exclusion suffered by the people was for them to unite and present a common position in the forthcoming presidential poll.

In a communiqué signed by the group’s President, Mr. Sidney Imohbio, it said people from Southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt zone are anxious to see the restructuring of the country in the shortest time possible.

It regretted that in spite of the democratic experience of the country, human lives continue to lay in waste while hope for a renaissance continue to diminish.

The group said in the past four years, no fewer than 10,000 lives have been lost to conflict and violence in the country, saying that the unity of the South and Middle Belt was imperative for the overall goal of a united, strong and flourishing Nigeria.

“Only a political system that considers the urgent need for restructuring will be useful to the people of Southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt. We have to work together. Though we are non-partisan, we consider the electoral field as critical to the realisation of the dream of SNMBF to see to the restructuring of Nigeria,” the group said.

Sidney said the restructuring was the surest way to peace, stability and prosperity in Nigeria.

“We shall work day and night to ensure the best candidate emerges in 2019 that will uplift Nigeria by addressing the garrison structure of the country which stifles development and creativity,” the group added.

SNMBFD was established about two years ago to promote the interests of Southern Nigeria and the Middle belt. It has already established structures in 24 states of the Federation.