Former governor of Kano State and Senator, representing, Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekarau, has faulted the call by the Northern governors’ Forum to jettison the zoning of Nigeria Presidency.
He said the arrangement which promoted regional inclusiveness, in the polity was initiated owing to the peculiar political reality of the country.
He also took a swipe at the southern governors for embarking on the call for the southern presidency, as a project, when they can form a bloc in their parties and demand the same irrespective of their region in the party.
The former governor of Kano State, Sen. Ibrahim Shekarau was a guest on Channels Television, Abuja Studio and monitored by our correspondent.
He said that it was a shame and very embarrassing that the governors are reducing the issues to personal matters instead of uniting the nation and come up with a national proposal on security, agriculture and the economy.
Senator Shekarau said the practice of democracy does not require specific laws in the constitution which emphasized the need for common sense.
He stated that while he noted that zoning of any position was not democratic, it has its peculiarity in the country and should be continued for the young democracy that Nigeria is
According to him: “It is undemocratic, some people are saying, it is unconstitutional, is not everything that has to be written there in the constitution.
“Let me quickly give you an example, none of the political party constitution that I know, specifies in writing, that if today I as a northern candidate emerged for the Presidency, as nominated by the party, that my running mate has to come from the southern part of Nigeria and vice versa?
“It is not written anywhere as a citizen of Kano if I pick a running mate from Kaduna or Sokoto or Bauchi, without referring to any Constitution, I will be described as crazy and mad, it does not work; it doesn’t follow.
“There is this question of understanding, common sense understanding, you do not have to get it written anywhere.”
He noted that the gang up cutting across the political party will ingest bad blood into the polity, especially if the governors are convinced about southern presidency come 2023, they should approach their respective parties and impress in it their conviction, and not come out in the open to generate bad looks for the polity.
Shekarau surmised thus: “Now that President Buhari is from the North and has served his eight years, let us beam the searchlight to the southern part of Nigeria.
“Not because we do not have enough competent persons in the North, the former governor Kano State stated.
Shekarau added that “I do not really support the argument that let the other part of Nigeria produce the leader, that does not mean you are throwing to the dogs, issue of competence; the credibility and so on.
“While I agree bro go for the best, therefore throw it open no regardless of which part of the country, we must be mindful of the perception to give some sense of belonging to every part of Nigeria.
“I subscribe to the view that we should be talking of the North and South, where I disagree with the southern governors is coming together to gang up and say the President in 2023 it must be from the south
“I think this is purely the party affairs, I am aware, I do not know whether it is still there, the PDP has it, in its constitution, the issue of the rotational presidency between the North and the South.
“Other parties, left it open, whether it is written or not written, we must bring inboard, what I still insist is the constitution of common sense and of rationality,” Shekarau stated.
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