CSOs intensify campaign for power shift to South

As the 2023 general election draw nearer, a coalition of civil society groups on power rotation to the South has called on major political parties in Nigeria to think ahead of their conventions by using the zoning formula to ensure the country remains united.

It appealed to the northern part of the country to remember that it has been in power for the past seven years, urging the North to allow the South to have its chance in 2023.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, yesterday, the president of the coalition, Bassey Etuk Williams said: “While we know power is not given on a platter of gold, we will deploy our structures across the country and within the various parties to further project the call for power rotation to save the country.

“Northern region has been in power since 2015 and after exhausting the constitutional eight years by 2023, it is expected that power will rotate to the South. This is lawful and can guarantee peace and unity of the country.

“Rising from our expanded National Executive meeting, we resolved to get involved and join in the call for power shift to the South come 2023. Let it be known that, there won’t be either All Progressives Congress (APC) or Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if there is no country called Nigeria.

“National interest must override personal interest as many are pushing parties to jettison the conventional rotation agenda of Presidency. Both parties must and should follow what will retain the unity of the country and zone Presidency to southern states come 2023.”

According to Williams, the country was overwhelmed with myriads of problems ranging from insecurity, banditry, terrorism and decayed infrastructure, hence it must not compound its woes again.

He said the coalition had been involved in mobilising young Nigerians to collect their PVCs in preparation for the forthcoming election.

He noted that the coalition had watched with keen interest various agitations across the zones of the federating units, adding that they have come up with the agenda of championing and clamouring for power shift to the South come 2023.

“There is no doubt that the North has had its fair share of the country’s leadership and now it is time to zone the Presidency to the Southern part of Nigeria.

“Since the return to civil rule in 1999, there has been an unwritten convention in the country for power rotation between the North and South.

“It baffles us that as the debate intensifies, most of those involved don’t know what is generally at stake especially as it relates to the unity of the country. We have witnessed sharp division along religious lines ahead of the 2023 general election.

“The current security situation and supremacy of a region is also affecting and shaking the unity bedrock of the nation,” the coalition warned.