Governors of the 19 northern states on Monday in Kaduna, say the presidency will be open for contest by all regions in the country in 2023.
They said it was wrong for the Southern governors to begin to lay claim to the presidency over a power rotation formula that has no place in the country’s 1999 Constitution.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that reports that governors of the 17 states in south under the aegis of Southern Governors’ Forum during a meeting in Lagos in July had declared that the next president of Nigeria must emerge from the region.
They restated their stand on the matter during a review meeting in Delta State few weeks later, throwing open a contest for power and criticisms from the North.
In a statement at the end of an emergency meeting which held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said the Southern Governors’ position will limit the franchise or freedom of choice of other regions, saying northerners have the democratic right to choose who should be the president in 2023.
He noted that their Southern colleagues’ vehement stand on the now vexed issue, is contrary to the provision of the constitution which stipulated that elected president shall secure at least 25 percent of the votes cast in 2/3 states of the federation.
He said “some Northern States Governors had earlier expressed views for a power-shift to the three geo-political zones in the South with a view to promoting unity and peace in the nation.
“Notwithstanding their comments, the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the Presidency must go to the South.
The statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:- score the majority votes; score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.
“In the case of run-up, simple majority wins the election.’
