2023: Group Wants Presidency Zoned to North Central

Laleye Dipo

The North Central Network for Better Nigeria (NCNBN), yesterday asked all the registered political parties in the country to pick their presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential election from any of the states in the north central geo political zone of the country in the spirit of equity fairness and unity of the country.

The group claimed that its request was based on the fact that the north central geo political zone of the country has not produced the president of Nigeria since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

Addressing a press conference in Minna, Niger State, the Director General of the NCNBN, Mr. Abdullahi Jibrin Muregi, declared that “we appreciate the fact that our demand is coming at a time that leaders of other zones are scheming to produce the president come 2023, but we appeal to their collective consciousness for equity, justice and fairness to drop their ambition and rally round the North Central Zone in its justifiable bid to produce the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari come 2023

“We believe that our demand is not out of place having painstakingly worked for other zones in the past to produce the presidency or to emerge as the Vice President of Nigeria through the large block of votes we always deliver to the winning political party in all elections since 1999.

“Will provide purposeful visionary and result oriented leadership to Nigeria,” pointing out that “we will play our traditional role of uniting Nigeria as demonstrated by our sons like Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar who stopped Biafra, the 1976 coup and returned Nigeria to civil rule respectively.”

Muregi said the agitation of the group would make “our country to remain united,” stressing that a North-central presidency “will naturally be positioned to mend cracks in the body polity of our diverse but united nature which amplifies our equality in the zone.”

He also made a demand for generational change in the leadership of the country because “ the present crop of leaders have been ruling Nigeria since independence thereby denying the youth the opportunity to rule despite enjoying such privilege in their youthful years

“This is the time to put into practice the Not Too Young To Rule Act by allowing the youth to produce the next president of our country,” Muregi said, adding that independent survey of opinion among voting electorate both the young and the old at grass root level clearly reveal deafening and clarion call for a young North-central presidential candidate.

“This demand is made more compelling due to poor leadership inadequate economic progress political instability and woeful insecurity by successive administration,” Muregi declared.