The leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has backed the calls for an Igbo presidency in 2023.
In an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, the elder statesman stated that it is time for the South East to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
He said the South East had been denied the Presidency since the inception of democracy in the country and it is only fair and equitable that the 2023 presidency goes to the region.
The 94-year-old opined that the federal character concept was introduced to accommodate the North, adding that concessions should also be made for the South-East.
He said: “Is it not to accommodate the North that we put the federal character in the constitution, to accommodate less developed areas?
“It doesn’t help the unity of this country if anybody is talking about merit now. It is because of the heterogeneity of the country to keep us together that the question of this rotation comes in, to accommodate ourselves as much as possible. Why do you want to overlook that now? Coming to the South for the 2023 presidential candidate is the equity, moral, and principle, except we are deceiving ourselves.”
Adebanjo asserted that the South-West has occupied the Presidency for sixteen years, while the South-South had also produced the President.
The elder statesman added that the South-East had been denied the Presidency which is far too long.
“How can you say rotation in the North and South, and when it comes to the South, it would be South-West and South-South every time? Is the South-East not part of the South? What is the moral we are talking about?
“Is it not the South-West that has served Obasanjo for eight years, Osinbajo for another eight years as Vice President? South-South has served its own. Is the South-East not part of the South? That is the question we should answer,” he said.
