The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has berated Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, over his comment on the Northern presidency.
On Tuesday, Akeredolu had declared that any political party that fields a northern candidate in the 2023 presidential election will lose.
He maintained that in the spirit of fairness and justice, the person to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari should be a southerner as the north would have completed eight straight years of leadership by 2023.
The governor spoke on Tuesday at his office in Akure the Ondo State capital when he played host to members of a group, Power Rotation Movement, led by its Chairman, Dr Pogu Bitrus, who also doubles as the Chairman, Middle Belt Forum.
Reacting, CNG through its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, described governor Akeredolu as a threat to democracy, saying his comment is empty and useless.
Suleiman stated that the threat by Akeredolu is another attempt to encroach on the fundamental rights of political parties to field candidates of their choices, and the right of voters to freely exercise choices over who leads them.
He stated that the North will not be threatened, bullied or blackmailed into giving up the political power which ought to be settled democratically through elections.
Suleiman warned that the right of northerners to aspire to any elective position in any party is non-negotiable, adding that the threat by the governor and Southern leaders will not deter the North from retaining power in 2023.
“For the avoidance of doubt, no amount of threats and intimidation from the South would change the minds of northerners regarding zoning.
“The persistent threats from self-appointed enemies of the North are unconstitutional and reckless, adding that Akeredolu constitutes a threat to the nation’s democracy.
“Any president to be elected should be done democratically and not by unnecessary empty expressions by anyone from whatever region and of whatever status,” Suleiman said.
