2027: Group backs zoning of presidential candidates to Southern Nigeria
By Everest Ezihe, Owerri
Ahead of 2027 political dispensation, the leadership of Coalition of Southern Nigeria (CSN), a sociopolitical organization lead by Prof Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe has backed the recent clarion calls by groups and most patriotic Nigerians for political parties to zone their presidential candidates to Southern Nigeria geo-political zone, in the overall interest of equity, fairness and natural justice.
The group gave the strategic advise on Thursday during an emergency zoom meeting presided over by Orikeze-Ajumbe as the Chairman, the meeting he said was tailored towards addressing some crucial political issues bedeviling the political equation and landscape of Nigeria.
The critical meeting was a gathering of political titans, strategic stakeholders and like minds across the six geopolitical zones, who converged via zoom for the prime interest of a better Nigeria to affirm and declare their position on the forthcoming general election.
Orikeze Ajumbe, a veteran political gladiator, and former commissioner in Imo State, also informed that the group collectively resolved in a communique signed by him and Hon. Bello Osaretin, as Chairman and Secretary General respectively resolved, that all the registered political parties in Nigeria should as matter of fairness and equity uphold the tenets and sanctity of zoning arrangement as a philosophy that has long guaranteed the corporate existence and unity of Nigeria.
They further insisted that all the registered political parties in Nigeria should uphold the zoning arrangement and ensure that their Presidential Candidates come from the Southern part of Nigeria so that in the true spirit of the political balance between the North and South, the later will hold the Office of the Presidency of Nigeria for two terms of eight years after which the Office rotates back to the North in 2031!
The group also passionately advised that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should ensure that it delivers to Nigerians, a free and fair election as this will go a long way to sustaining Nigeria’s democratic experience.
They equally said point blank that INEC should guard against being seen as favouring any political party in the discharge of its duties as an unbiased umpire.
The group cautioned that the electoral body should not repeat the shoddy experience of the 2023 presidential election where suddenly, the electoral body’s technology platform that was supposed to ensure a seamless upload of polling unit results broke down and INEC resorted to manual transmission of results with its attendant flaws and consequent alleged manipulation of the results of the election.
They noted with patriotism that delivering a free, fair and credible elections to Nigerians in 2027 by INEC will ensure that Nigeria’s fledgling and fragile democracy is not plunged into a state of anarchy and political turmoil.
