The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has informed the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket to the South is legitimate and constitutional.
The All Progressives Congress Chieftain, described the rotation of the presidency between Northern and Southern Nigeria as a legal and constitutional agitation recognised by Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, calling on the APC leadership to respect the mood of the nation.
The National Chairman and former Nasarawa State Governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had last week, said the party is yet to zone the presidency to any zone ahead of 2023 elections, which had elicited negative reactions from Southern Nigeria.
Speaking in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Tuesday during an empowerment programme for his constituents across the five councils in the zone, Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central, described agitation for the presidency from politicians of Southern extraction, as a legitimate request.
Materials distributed at the event are minibuses, sowing machines, generating sets, ploughing machines, grinding machines, wheelchairs, tricycles, motorbikes, ambulance buses, Ventilators, fertilisers, driers, Hilux vans, among others.
Addressing journalists at the Oluyemi Kayode stadium, in Ado-Ekiti, the venue of the event, Bamidele said, “Rotational presidency is legitimate and constitutional. Let me state that Section 14 of the constitution and various sections of the 1999 Constitution, as amended stated that no section of the country should dominate others in terms of positions.
“Let me also state that the primary concept of governance is the welfare and good governance. The Section emphasized that Nigeria shall not be governed in such a way that any particular section will have a domineering advantage over others.
“That is the whole essence of equitable distribution of wealth and power. Part of the equitable distribution of power is allowing the presidency to rotate between North and South. Though the constitution didn’t say specifically about rotation, but logically and through various judicial interpretations, allowing it to rotate is legal and constitutional.”
Bamidele also added that allowing the presidency to return to the South in 2023 will douse the raging restiveness and tension in the country.
“Speaking as a Nigerian, there is social tension in Nigeria today and when you have situations whereby Nigerians are beginning to doubt our togetherness and no longer trust leadership, people should not be thinking about political dominance.
“There is no part of this nation and zone that cannot produce the best. If you check properly, the majority desire in APC is that there should be free, fair and credible primary to elect our presidential candidate and not by imposition,” he said.
The senator expressed gratitude to his constituency for working hard to support him in the last three years in the National Assembly.
According to him, “What I am doing today is part of how to give back to the society. This is not the first empowerment I have done. I have empowered over 5,000 people in my constituency in agriculture, tying and dying and others.
“This is a basic and fundamental thing that I think will benefit our people in critical areas like Agriculture, education, security, health and general empowerment.
“I have procured 10,000 volumes of books for our students while two ambulances and Ventilators were donated to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital.”
The Chairman of the occasion and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, urged the Ekiti voters to vote for the APC candidate, Biodun Oyebanji during the June 18 poll.
The former Governor saluted the Senator for giving a strong showing through the empowerment programme, saying this has further shown that he is a good and worthy representative.
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