Dokpesi: No southern candidate can win 2023 presidential election
Raymond Dokpesi, former chairman of Daar Communications, says no candidate from the south will be able to win the 2023 presidential election.
In an interview with Daily Trust, Dokpesi said if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his party, decides to zone the presidency to the south, it will be fair for the ticket to be given to the south-east.
The PDP chieftain said whoever emerges president needs to compensate the people of the south-east, “if we want a new Nigeria”.
“The south-east cannot win the election for the PDP, that is just the truth of the matter,” he said.
“I don’t beat around the bush; I treat issues as they are and as I understand them. There is no candidate from the south-east, even I dare say there is no candidate from the South that you put in the north today that will be able to win. It is going to be a humongous challenge.
“If we are the Nigerians, I want us to be, if we believe in the unity of Nigeria and we also believe in equity, justice, and fairness, there is no reason we should not give it to the south-east if the slot is given to the south.
“However, is there equity, justice, and fairness in Nigeria’s politics? The answer is NO! So, don’t let us over flog the matter.
“I think that whoever emerges as the president of Nigeria would have to compensate the people of the south-east if truly, we want the emergence of the new Nigeria.”
Dokpesi said he is not interested in being the national chairman of the PDP, adding that there are capable people who could lead the party.
“I want to say emphatically that I am not interested in the chairmanship of the PDP,” he said.
“I am just regaining my sanity from the mental torture and the pain I went through in the hands of the APC-led federal government and I think that there must be a time to prepare properly and get yourself ready for the challenges ahead.
“So, for those reasons, I am not interested in the chairmanship of the party. But there are quite a lot of capable hands who can provide that leadership.
“I believe for a change that the leadership of the party should move to the south-west.”
Without restructuring of Nigeria, we are just wasting time
”Today, we have a 36-state country with six geopolitical zones. The North has 19 states; the South has 17 states. Looking at that, you have a situation where the North has more senators in the Senate and the South has less. What that means is that, if there is a bill that will be in the favour of the South, like what happened with the Petroleum Industry Bill — there is no way that PIB would have been passed if the North said it should not be passed. In the North, you have 19 states, 419 local government areas, 58 senatorial seats and 191 House of Representatives seats. The South has 17 states, 357 local government areas, 51 senatorial seats and 169 House of Representatives seats. So, if the Yoruba, all the ethnic groups in the Niger Delta, and the Igbo who are members of the National Assembly agree on anything that would benefit their people, and the North say no, the North’s position would be upheld. That is where we are. Politically, that is where the restructuring must start.”
No problem to equalize with the north it cede to the south niger , kwara ,nasarawa and benue so that the south can have equal land mass as the north. Wealth should also be redistributed for equality