2023: Multiple Candidates Threaten Southern Presidency, Says Regional Leaders
- There are fears that southern Nigeria might lose out completely from the forthcoming 2023 presidential race
- Leaders in the south are now meeting to ensure that the number of aspirants does not affect southern Nigeria from producing the next president
- Prominent southeast group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is going a step further to pick one presidential aspirant each for the two major political parties
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
FCT, Abuja - A report by The Punch newspaper indicates that leaders in the southeast and the southwest are expected to meet this weekend to ensure that a southerner emerges as the next president of Nigeria.
According to the report, the leaders of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the leading members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the southwest, warned that the high number of presidential aspirants from the south was a threat to southern presidency.
Source: Facebook
Out of the 15 presidential aspirants that have been screened by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), five are from the north while 10 are from the south including a former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, and his Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike.
In the APC, at least 14 southerners are already in the race including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, chairman of the governors' forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, minister of state for education, Emeka Nwajuiba and a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
It was learnt that southern elders are beginning to fear that the high number of aspirants in the south could divide the southern delegates and give the north an advantage at the APC and PDP primaries which come up at the end of the month.
To ensure harmony, Ohanaeze leaders say they will work to present one aspirant each for PDP and APC to represent the southeast in both parties.
2023: Sources say APC may field northern presidential candidate
Recall that a recent report indicates that the APC may field a northern candidate that can compete with the PDP if the opposition party picks its presidential standard-bearer from the north ahead of the 2023 election.
According to the report, although the APC was interested in zoning its presidential ticket to the south, the outcome of the PDP’s presidential primary scheduled for Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29 would determine its final decision.
It was also learnt that the chieftains of the party in the north had started shopping for a strong presidential candidate from the region if the PDP’s candidate is picked from the north.
2023: Fear grips APC presidential aspirants as Buhari keeps mum
Meanwhile, there are indications that aspirants on the platform of the APC are currently in confusion and fear over the modality the candidate of the party will emerge after the primaries for the 2023 presidential election.
Although the aspirants have been declaring and have even started purchasing the party’s N100 million expression of interest and nomination forms, however, many of them are groping in the dark and uncertain about how the party’s candidate will finally emerge.
As a mark of respect, almost all the aspirants had approached President Muhammadu Buhari to notify him of their intentions before declaring openly, but surprisingly they all got the same presidential endorsement response.
Source: Legit.ng
