Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State and senator representing Nasarawa West in the upper legislative chamber, says the Igbos should not predict the presidency in 2023 to be handed to them on a golden platter because they haven’t formed one since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999.
The senator, who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), claims that the constitution does not allow for zoning or rotation of the nation’s presidency.
Nowhere in the Nigerian constitution does it say we should zone any public office. There is federal character, but not that parties must zone positions for presidency during election,” Adamu said during a press briefing in Abuja.
“Yes, somebody is saying the east has not had a president. I agree and I sympathise. But the constitution says you can only become president through the ballot box.
He added “We have been saying it during elections that every vote must count. So, why do you want to zone?
“Let us just go by merit. Let every party find a way of selling itself in a manner that will garner the kind of votes that will win the election. It is as simple as that.
Do we have anything like that in the American constitution? Are we more democratic than the Americans?
“It is democracy. Why do you want to change it? Wishful thinking only. How do you zone it?,” he added.
So many state governors from the north and south have expressed similar opinions ahead of the 2023 general election that presidents should emerge from their region respectively
