Why patriotic Nigerians should support Akume’s position on South retaining presidency till 2031 – Aimienwauu

Chief Ewie Aimienwauu is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former governorship aspirant in Edo State. He is the President of A-100 (Conference of all former Governorship Aspirants in South South). Aimienwauu spoke with journalists on the recent hullabaloo on whether the rotational presidency arrangement between the North and South should be maintained in 2027 or not, submitting that those promoting the idea of breaching the pact are unpatriotic elements seeking to destabilise the country. ONYEDIKA AGBEDO was there.

Recently, there was controversy over whether the country should stick with the rotational presidency arrangement between the North and South in 2027. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, had canvassed the position that the South will retain the presidency in 2027 to which former vice president Atiku Abubakar responded that he should let Nigerians decide. What is your take on the matter?
Constitutionally, a lot of people argue that because of the Federal Character component of the 1999 constitution, there has to be fair sharing of everything in Nigeria. That accounts for why Value Added Tax (VAT) that is generated in Lagos is shared to develop other parts of the country; that accounts for why money that accrues from crude oil in the Niger Delta is shared to develop other states that are not producing anything or not producing enough, comparatively speaking.

There have been a lot of talks on whether the presidency should now become open to all comers in 2027. I stand to say that this agenda will fail this time because if a rat passes, you will say a rat has passed. If another rat passes you will still say another rat has passed. This was the same agenda that was promoted to truncate Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s second term and that same agenda has started brewing now.

The truth is there is an agreement that the presidency should rotate between the North and the South – eight years for the South, followed by eight for the North and then followed by eight years for the South and it continues like that. So, for people to now come and say that the North is producing a presidential candidate in 2027 is not only unpatriotic, it is divisive and an attempt to destabilise the country. The most frightening thing is that even where sane voices have spoken up in favour of the subsisting agreement, some people have resorted to name calling and insults.

The SGF, George Akume, did say that the presidency is not leaving the South until 2031, which is the position. Since then, there has been a lot of stone throwing and name-calling. Senator George Akume is right. He is only speaking what has been agreed and what has been practiced. So, anybody who goes about saying anything other than what Senator Akume has said with regard to rotating the presidency between the South and the North eight years apiece is a civilian coup plotter. That is my position.

Akume is an amiable gentleman and bridge builder. Somebody from the North Central who is championing a nationalist cause, who is speaking for the benefit of one Nigeria, needs to be commended. So, the South should now rally round him.

The greatest concern I have is that certain southern elements have now started coming to the national space to say that in a democracy, anybody is free to run. How is anybody free to run? Anybody who is running in 2027 who is not a southerner is a saboteur.

But that is not the norm because even in the 2023 presidential election, some northerners were on the ballot. For instance, Atiku Abubakar contested on the platform of the PDP while Rabiu Kwankwaso contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)…
(Cuts in) The truth of the matter is that because it is not a legal provision, it is an agreement; dissident elements can go ahead and decide to run. But usually, the result shows where the majority of people in the country belong. The reason is this – it is not even time to be quarreling about 2027. The economy of this country is not stable; the population of this country needs to be fed; infrastructure needs to be revitalised. The Presidency and Mr. President should be allowed to do some work. That is the issue; the president should be allowed to concentrate on governance.  All these people that are dragging him to come and talk about politics, this is not the time for politics. This is time for governance. Nigerians want to get some returns for the trust they have reposed in the president. And so, people should not start threatening a second term or no second term. If the people want to contest because they feel they have the fundamental human right to do so, they should go ahead. But come 2027, the president of Nigeria should come from the South.

If you say this is not the time for politics, when is the time? Going by the norm, once a general election is over, politicians begin the preparations for the next one…
(Cuts in) Yes, it is true. But that is in terms of harmonisation, reconciliation and mobilisation.  You have to strengthen your base before you come out and say you want to contest. Every day is not a competition; there are more days that are spent in preparation and rehearsal than the competition. This is the time for preparation and rehearsal – organise your people, organise your party, strengthen your structure and wait for the whistle to be blown.

But that is what northerners who are thinking of contesting the 2027 presidential election are doing. They are simply strengthening their base?
No, that is not what they are doing. They are not strengthening their base. They are causing confusion in the country. And the North should not think of producing the next president because the South must have its eight years. It cannot happen again.

But you know they have the number to turn the table to their favour?
They cannot turn any table unless they want to turn the table and break it.
Since this is not a constitutional matter, on what basis do you think those who want power to shift from the South after four years are doing so?

They are coming from a position where a few minorities in this country become agitated when they are not controlling our national wealth. Otherwise, I don’t see why the agreement that power should rotate between the South and the North should become an issue; very soon eight years is over. Buhari did eight years; the South waited. The South even supported him to win the election to be president. Now it is the turn of the South for just eight years. So, what is the hurry for?

Constitutionally, there is no provision that the presidency must rotate between the North and the South. It’s an agreement that has promoted unity, inclusiveness and the concept of one country. It is not about individuals; we are talking about the interest of groups in this country. No group must emasculate another. If we say the North and South should share, that is it. The North cannot come and take the turn of the South. They did it before and succeeded but this time it will not work. And any southerner who is lending his voice to the northern clamour for the race to the presidency to be thrown open under the altar of democracy is an enemy of the South.

So what are your expectations from southern politicians and bridge builders regarding this matter?
Southern political leaders, irrespective of political party and personal opinion must stand behind Akume that the presidency must continue to rotate between the North and the South because no one knows tomorrow. When the time comes, the South will decide who represents them.  Today the president is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; nobody knows whether he is interested in a second term or not. So, if for his sake they now throw away the baby and the bath water, when the time comes in 2027 and the opportunity is there for any southerner to aspire, we would have foreclosed the matter.

You said that the time is not yet ripe for the politics of 2027 to commence but your position actually reinforces the fact that the game has actually started. Isn’t it so?
We didn’t start the game; the North started it. In fact, they even started the game at the swearing in ceremony of the current president. We are still in the process of consolidating government and tackling the myriad of issues bedeviling the country. This administration inherited what the brother of the northerners did to Nigeria. We are still trying to get out of it and they want to come back to continue. They should wait; at the end of our tenure as southerners, they will have their turn. When their brother was there, we did not complain; we waited patiently. There was hue and cry that the country was going into a precipice, yet the South did not threaten to break the agreement. We stayed with the agreement. The position is that there is an understanding; stay with. If they are so aggrieved, let them look for a southerner to support in 2027, but not a northerner.

Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), who apparently couldn’t work together in 2023 and unwittingly handed the APC and Tinubu the presidency, have been hobnobbing with each other lately. Do you envisage an alliance between them that will produce a southern candidate as you have canvassed?
Politics is a game of strategy, tactics and numbers. So, if it is a tactic on the part of Atiku and Peter Obi to forge an alliance, let’s wait for the strategy. Will Atiku become the running of Peter Obi or vice versa? Let’s wait and see. That people are seen together does not mean that they sleep on the same bird. And don’t forget that Atiku and Obi are from the same party – the PDP. So, let’s wait and see.

As I have said, the issue as it affects us in the South is that the presidency remains in the South. So, if their meeting is for the purpose of fostering the interest of the South, why not? We will pray for them and wait for them.