Southern, middle belt leaders says Igbo should produce next president to foster reconciliation

21 May Southern, middle belt leaders says Igbo should produce next president to foster reconciliation

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) says the next president should come from the south-east region of the country in the interest of promoting national reconciliation.

The group stated this in a communique issued after its meeting, which also involved various stakeholders from the regions, on Thursday.

Speaking on calls for the presidency to be zoned to the south, the SMBLF said there would be “grim consequences” if political parties present northern candidates in the next general election.

“The forum firmly reiterates its stance on the principle of zoning and power rotation between the north and the south, as the basis on which the Nigerian federation has, since independence, been premised,” the communique reads.

The forum states unequivocally, that the zoning and rotation of the presidency of Nigeria are fundamental to the future existence of the country.

“The forum, accordingly, condemns, in strongest terms, obvious schemes by the two main political parties, the PDP and APC, ahead of their presidential primaries, to jettison the time-honoured principle of rotation, which has traditionally served as the glue holding the Federal Republic of Nigeria together.