Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has advocated that southern Nigeria should produce the next president in order to enhance the country’s political stability in 2023.
Zulum made this call at the presentation of a book by Dakuku Perterside, former director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), on Thursday.
According to him, power rotation is a covenant among political leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), hence there is need to keep to previous agreements made to shift power to the southern part of the country in the next administration.
“I have advocated for power shift to the South, and I am not saying this so that I will become the vice president,” Zulum said.
“Although it is not enshrined in the constitution, power rotation is a covenant between our political party and as a devout Muslim it should be kept.”
“With the way things are currently going on in the country, it’s obvious that we have to try something different in 2023.
“However, I would advise that the ruling party, APC keeps this at heart whenever they decide to nominate a candidate. Let’s give others a chance to rule too.”
Speaking on how to address the nation’s problems, Zulum said leaders should strive to pursue peace as it would improve security and economic growth.
“As leaders, we will pursue peace with everything that we have. When leadership achieves peace then security continues to improve and economic growth naturally follows,” he said.
“Effective leadership through serious accountability and monitoring is an important factor to succeed. Our system has been so weak that people simply consider civil service as a place to earn salary for doing nothing. We have to choose between competency and loyalty. When we go for competency, then we get it right.”
Meanwhile, a former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe says Igbo presidency can only be possible if northerners forgive the Igbos for the killing of Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, by Nigerian soldiers of Igbo extraction in the 1966 coup.