2023: We’ll not support northern candidate — Afenifere, MBF

Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere and Middle Belt Forum (MBF) have reiterated their earlier position that they would not support any presidential candidate from the north in 2023, insisting that after President Muhammadu Buhai’s eight years in power as a northerner, power should naturally shift to the south.

Reacting to Ohaneze Ndigbo’s assertion that the PDP has committed political suicide by throwing its presidential ticket open to all zones, , Afenifere said it would not be drawn into the partisan affairs of what the party did or did not do.

But, the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Jare Ajayi, however, reiterated the position adopted by the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), under the leadership of Chief Edwin Clerk and the Southern Governors Forum led by Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu that power should shift to the south in 2023.

President of the MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus,  agreed with Ohanze’s position that what the PDP had done amounted to a political suicide.

“We said we would campaign against any political party that chose a northern candidate and if through this open process, a northern candidate emerges, it would amount to a political suicide because the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), Ohaneze, Afenifere and Middle Belt Forum will all campaign against the candidate, and that, by implication, means that PDP is gone. So, throwing the contest open actually amounts to a political suicide unless if they succeed in electing a southern candidate during the primary,” he said.

However, President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima disagreed with Ohaneze’s assertion of PDP committing political suicide saying  there was nothing like political suicide in what the PDP has done.

He said on the contrary,  the party’s action amounts to justice, equity and fairness.

“The party knew that it was morally wrong to zone the presidency to the south; it also has no moral right to zone it to the north. The last president came from the south and in the 16 years of PDP in power, the north has only three years. And if you combine Buhari’s administration as a northerner, though from the APC, together with that of late Umar Musa Yar’Adua of the PDP, and you zone the presidency to the south, some of us will still feel that the right thing was not done and justice was done to the north. The south cannot have 14 and half years in power while the north has 10 and half years and they say justice has been done to the north; there is nothing justice about that.”

He questioned the imperatives of zoning saying, “In what way has the zoning favoured anybody since we started it Nigeria? Look at what we are going through in Nigeria today. I has never favoured anybody and that is why we are saying that enough is enough. Let us begin to look at competence, no matter where the person comes from, rather than zoning.” (Daily Sun)