National Alliance for Southern Presidency (NASP) on Thursday said zoning the 2023 presidential ticket the south would enhance equity and shared prosperity.
National Co-Chairman, NASP, Mr Kenneth Ibe-Kalu, said this at the group’s maiden news conference in Abuja.
Ibe-kalu said that the group was calling for the zoning of the 2023 presidency to the south because it believed that rotational presidency was about balancing a scale of history since 1999.
“The Alliance will not support any party that zones its presidential ticket outside the southern region come 2023.
“NASP shall effectively mobilise youths and other Nigerians to reject divisive tendencies using their votes.
“The Alliance enjoins all political parties, especially the big ones to zone their presidential ticket in line with rotation to southern Nigeria for equity, stability and shared prosperity.
“We call on all Nigerians who share this national ideology to raise up their hands to be counted as proponents of unity stability and shared prosperity.
“We shall commence nationwide mobilisation to identify like minds to join us in this noble crusade,” he said.
Ibe-kalu said that the present generation of leaders should consciously and deliberately avoid the tendency of misusing religion, ethnicity, regionalism, culture among others in order to make progress.
He said that the focus should be about bringing peace, unity, security, creating jobs, giving quality and affordable education, health care among others.
He said that this was the way forward to building a prosperous and united country in diversity.
Ibe-kalu said that it should be understood that democracy is a flexible social concept that should be designed to fit into the peculiar circumstances of different nations.
He said that formal zoning and rotation of power was first introduced in 1994 to 1995 to assuage the feeling of marginalisation thereby carrying everyone along.
“If the country could retain and use federal character in sharing of jobs and political appointments such as ministers and ambassadors then the rotation of presidency should not be exceptional.” he said.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for recognising the differences in the political make up of the country and enthroning equity and balance.
He called on all political party leaders to queue behind the president and refrain from all acts capable of causing disunity in Nigeria.