By James Orji
An Igbo group, South-East Destiny Movement for Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023 has joined the teeming supporters of the former Lagos Governor asking him to contest next year’s presidential election.
The position of the group negates that of opinion leaders, politicians and professionals who said the presidency should be zoned to the region for the sake of equity, due to the fact the region has not produced the president since the return to democracy in 1999.
On Tuesday, Ayin Pius Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the federation, SGF and presidential hopeful urged the major political parties in the country to zone the position to the south east.
Speaking on the controversial power shift issue, the Convener, SDMBAT, Chief Ekene Enefe, said Tinubu has paid his due as versatile politician whose service is required to turn the country around at this critical time.
The group said it has painstakingly assess the capacity of Tinubu who is also the National Leader of the ruling APC to govern the country successfully if given the chance become the president, noting that the politician is a detribalized Nigerian who has assisted many people to top political positions, without considering tribe or religion.
According to Enefe, “we are supporting him because what Nigeria needs in a president is capacity, competence and national acceptability.
“What we need in Nigeria is a good leader, who is informed and who can harness and allocate the resources of this country equitably.
“We cannot continue to advocate for a president based on ethnicity. There was a time when people from the South-East occupied good positions in government, but it did not translate into improved infrastructure in the region.
“As a matter of fact, some of the champions of the president from South-East extraction are doing it for selfish reasons. How have they used their former opportunities to better the lots of the people in their immediate environment?” he said.
He stated further that a massive mobilization is ongoing across the south east to ensure that the former governor achieves his ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
“We are in touch with every community in the South-East; we have been existing and decided to provide our platform for BAT, because he represents a better opportunity for the APC and better leadership for Nigeria, because of his proven experience,” he said.
Meanwhile, a top presidency aspirant from the south east has appealed to the ruling APC, PDP and “all the political parties to take the fair, just and equitable decision to zone their Presidential slots to the South, particularly the South-East”.
