TheCable

Omoyele Sowore, presidential hopeful on the African Action Congress (AAC) platform, has described the call for an Igbo president as “a divisive strategy”.

There has been a well-documented call by various political figures for the presidency of Nigeria to go to the south-east in 2023.

Many supporters of this idea have continued to argue that an Igbo president will ensure fairness, justice and equity for the region.

Adding his voice to the argument on Monday, Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere leader, said if the office of the presidency was based on “merit”, only candidates from the south-east would hold the office “till kingdom come”.

“When it is now the turn of the south and the south-east, they’re now propounding a new theory — the question of merit. If it was based on merit, till today, till kingdom come, the east alone will produce president,” he had said.

“I am saying all these to tell you that the question of lobbying, campaigning is a rigmarole. They know the truth.”

In a chat with Arise TV on Tuesday, Sowore described the decision to zone the presidency to a certain region as “undemocratic”, adding that it is only to “throw a bone at the Nigerian people”.

He said, “an Igbo man becoming the president will not make a difference if he’s not the right person to lead”.

The presidential hopeful then added that “the presidency should go to the geographical area or intellectual area known as competence and great character”.

“Each time there is an election cycle, the political elite in Nigeria who makes this decision, which is undemocratic, will throw a bone at the Nigerian people. And their singsong this time around is that they want an Igbo to become the president. It’s not a decision that was taken with consent and the affirmation of the Nigerian people,” Sowore said.

“If you go to Igboland today, they are not even interested in the elections. How do you tell IPOB members that it’s their turn to be president when they are agitating for a referendum and self-determination. Nobody went to the Yorubas to say who they wanted. Nobody went to Nigerians.

“All Nigerians are entitled to good governance and progress. An Igbo man becoming the president will not make a difference if he’s not the right person to lead. We should zone the presidency to the geographical area or intellectual area known as competence and great character.

“It’s a very divisive strategy to make people believe that if you bring an Igbo president, suddenly Nigeria will become El-Dorado.”