The Middle Belt Forum has described the growing agitation for southern presidency ahead of the 2023 elections as a legitimate demand and not threat as being insinuated in some quarters.

It said it was unfortunate if the demand for southern presidency had been misconstrued as a threat by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

National President of the Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, stated this yesterday, while featuring on ‘The Good Morning Show’ on ARISE News Channel.

He said there were so many competent people from the south, who could transform the economic misdeed the country was currently suffering from and who could also stop insurgency.

Reacting to the statement credited to the ACF that the south could not threaten their way to power, Pogu said there wasn’t any threat in demanding what was right, what was good and what was needed at the moment.

If demanding for what is right, what is expedient, what even the north should have preferred over those of them calling for continuation of the northern presidency, if they call that a threat, then it is unfortunate.

Because we have done this in the past, it worked for Nigeria. Just because of NADECO, we not only in 1999 had a southern president but we had candidates from the major political parties from Yoruba extraction – micro-zoned to the South-west.

Those of us in the Middle Belt, who see the northern presidency now as a presidency full of sentiment, full of nepotism and people who called the insurgents as “our boys” and therefore being treated as our boys rather than as people, who are a menace to the society. And therefore allowing them to continue to operate and perpetuate evil in this country.

We feel that should be discontinued; we feel the people in ACF, who are still holding on to the belief that the north should continue holding the presidency by 2023 should have a rethink,

he said.

Pogu was of the opinion that any sane person seeing the kind of situation the country found itself would support the agitation for a southern presidency, noting that the Middle Belt felt the presidency should go to the south.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.