2023: Power shift to south ‘non-negotiable’

Ahmed Lawal, organising secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Adamawa state, says power must shift to the southern part of Nigeria in 2023.

Lawal made the call in an interview with NAN in Yola, Adamawa capital, on Sunday.

He said there is need to demonstrate fairness in the polity, adding that the southern part of Nigeria supported the northern part to retain power for eight years.

He advised the APC to ensure power rotation in 2023 to enhance national cohesion.

Lawal rejected comments from those he called “some selfish northern politicians” intent on shortchanging the south in the scheme of power play.

The organising secretary said the proponents of power retention in the north are selfish as they cannot claim to be speaking for the entire north.

“We must rotate power to southern Nigeria for the spirit of equity, fairness and harmony,” he said.

“As far as Nigerian unity is concerned, power shift must become a stabilising principle so that no region will feel relegated and oppressed politically.

“It was instructive that our political leaders sought support from southerners while APC was mobilising during 2015 election.

“It is glaring that they cooperated well as no southern APC politician contested the primary election during 2015 and even in 2019.

“If we want to be fair to them, let’s allow them to have a feel of power come 2023. It is also instructive that those singing northern power retention cannot speak for the north because they are not authorised.

“As you can see, some of them who claim to be members of the APC, worked against the party in the just concluded governorship election to build up PDP to be able to achieve their sinister agenda.”

Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation and Junaid Mohammed, a politician from Kano, had said rotation of the presidency to the south in 2023 is not automatic.