By Musa Baba Adamu
Leaders of North Central Renaissance Movement (NCRM) have appealed to the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure they zone their 2023 presidential tickets to the region.
They stated that the move would be in the interest of fairness and justice in the country’s political system.
Speaking in a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Chairman of the group, Nghargbu K’tso, said, “The time has come for other geo-political zones to support the North Central in its aspiration of producing the next President of the country.”
He said the zone would not accept national chairmanship slot of any party, stressing that the zone will accept nothing less than the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2023 general elections.
In a related development, the North Central Coalition for Leadership (NCCL), a pro-north-central presidency advocacy group, has asked Alex Kadiri, a former senator, not to belittle the zone in the race for the 2023 presidency.
Kadiri, a former senator representing Kogi east, had said members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi state should concentrate on getting the chairmanship of the party, rather than seeking the presidency.
Yahaya Bello, Kogi governor, has indicated interest to run for the presidency in 2023.
But according to Kadiri, “there is nobody of substance who has the capacity to be president from north-central in 2023”.
Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday, Charles Oluwatoyin, NCCL Director General, described the former senator’s remarks as “disparaging”.
“If truly the former senator was a leader of the region as he vehemently claimed during the press conference he held, he would rather than diminish his own region gather the needed momentum and add his own voice to ensuring that the largely marginalized region was given the desired and overdue recognition,” Oluwatoyin said.
“According to the nation’s constitution every citizen of the country irrespective of their region was entitled to the top executive position of the country and there were several qualified and politically viable individuals from the region that have the track record and the capacity to lead the nation.”
The DG said his group is undertaking research and would soon announce who they feel is most qualified to run for the presidency.
