A political organisation under the aegis of Nigeria Equity Group on Tuesday provoked a fresh controversy over the 2023 presidency and advised all political parties and other critical stakeholders in the country to work towards a Christian President from the South in 2023.
The NEG therefore called on ‘’all the political parties in the country, especially the two major ones- the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party – to reserve their presidential tickets for Southern Christians in 2023.’’
The organisation said that religion and geography should be considered as key factors in power shift equation for the 2023 presidential election to give all Nigerians a sense of belonging.
The Convener of NEG, Dr. Emeka Nwosu and Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Mubarak, made the recommendation in a statement in Abuja, entitled: ‘2023: NEG demands power-shift to a Christian President.’
According to the NEG, it was only fair to consider a “religious power shift”, that would produce a Christian President in 2023 after the eight-year reign of the President Muhammadu Buhari, who is Muslim in order to maintain the careful balancing that has been established since 1999.
The statement reads, “Our position is that after an eight-year rule of a Northern Muslim in 2023, it would only be fair and equitable that whoever takes over from him be a competent Southern Christian.
“The population of Nigeria is shared almost equally by Christians and Muslims and between the North and South; we therefore hold that, for the sake of equity, after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northern Muslim, the position of the President should go to a Southern Christian in 2023.
“This will not be unusual; in 1999, the two major parties at that time, ensured that their presidential candidates were both from the South-West to assuage the historical injustice done to the people of that region with the unjust nullification of the June 12, 1993 presidential election which denied Chief MKO Abiola the Presidency.
‘’We wish to put it on notice and state strongly that we will mobilize similar organizations and indeed all Nigerians to work against any political party that does not follow this template in 2023.
“We are assured that there are many competent Southern Christians with the experience, passion, patriotism and competence to lead Nigeria towards stability and prosperity, and this is the route we must follow to avoid worsening the division and crises that have plagued our nation.’’