Anakwenze, who indicated interest in contesting the 2023 presidential election, stated this at the just concluded Nigerian inter-ethnic nationalities dialogue, tagged: Presidency Of Igbo Extraction In 2023 held in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
He urged all patriotic Nigerians to ensure rotation and zoning of the presidency in 2023 by electing a president from the Southern part of the country, especially the South East.
“Only rotation or zoning of presidency can rebalance the country before the next general elections so that universal adult suffrage can make sense. The basis of any viable democracy, especially in a diverse and complex country like Nigeria, rests in fairness and sharing of power.
“Our position is that since the North would have fully enjoyed the presidency for eight years by 2023, power ought to be ceded to the South and South East zone in particular in the spirit of unity and equity.
“It is the turn of the South East to produce the next president of Nigeria and we are warning that nobody should hide under insecurity to deny the zone what rightfully belongs to it,” he stated.
He expressed the belief that the main justification for rotation or zoning of presidency was borne out of the skewed nature of the 1999 Constitution, which had hitherto guaranteed that only a part of the country was positioned to produce the nation’s President in perpetuity through the unequal creation of states and councils.
Anakwenze, a United States-based Medical Doctor, who also doubles as the Onowu of Abagana, said: “Igbo people have contributed greatly to the development of Nigeria in terms of infrastructure, intellect and business.
“It is time to give the Igbo a chance to build Nigeria to the standard God wants. God created Nigeria to develop into a major world power among nations and guarantee respect and dignity for the black race. One of the ways to achieve that is to carry everybody along without let or discrimination.”
He insisted that either the South East produces the president of the country in 2023 or it gets nothing, adding: “We ask that all political parties should zone their presidential tickets to the South East zone in 2023 and all efforts should be geared to achieving that goal. We restate that only restructuring can prevent the country from total disintegration.”
