The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has urged the the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, not to contest the 2023 Presidency to pave the way for the emergence of a candidate from the South-East.
The President-General of the group, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in a statement on Friday urged Atiku to show maturity by ignoring any call to contest the election in the spirit of maintaining the ‘gentleman’s’ agreement on power rotation between the North and the South.
Isiguzoro said he was confident that power would shift to the South in the 2023 presidential election, calling on the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress and the PDP, to ensure that they zone their tickets to the South.
He said, “The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide is confident that power will definitely shift to the South and we are urging the 2019 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, not to yield to pressure to battle for the 2023 PDP ticket. He should show maturity and reciprocate the gesture of the Igbo in 2019 by supporting a President of Igbo stock in 2023.
“The PDP and APC should zone their tickets to the South in 2023 as a way of respecting the principle of rotational Presidency, which is the best ingredient that has stabilised the unity of the country and deepened our democracy since 1999.
“Any further attempt to thwart this gentleman’s agreement will further fuel distrust, enmity and agitation of marginalisation. For equity and justice to reign, the South-East will be the only zone favoured for the 2023 Presidency.”
