The United for Better Nigeria Initiative (UBNi) has urged all political parties in Nigeria to zone their presidential tickets to South East come 2023. In her response, to the report submitted by the committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which advised that the presidential ticket should be thrown open to all zones, the national coordinator of UBNi, Chief (Mrs.) Nkolika Mkparu-Okeke said the government of Nigeria led by a president of the southeast extraction has been long overdue.
Mkparu-Okeke in a statement on Sunday, said South East and North-Eastern parts of Nigeria are the only regions that have not had a go at the presidency while South East has, also, not been a presidential flag-bearer of a major political party. According to her, the South East is the more marginalised, therefore more deserving of the highest political office in the country. “It is, therefore, a worthy course to adhere to the conventional method of zoning by the PDP such that a candidate from the southeast becomes the next president of our dear nation. This will bring about cohesion and further bind the cords of unity that have brought us this far as a nation and which is greatly needed at this juncture in the life of our Country.
“It is a fact that the nation at a time like this, is experiencing too much divisiveness and this must not be allowed to fester on as the southeastern part of the country has seen unparalleled marginalisation at its peak. Indeed, the South East region has viable and noteworthy potential candidates from all walks of life with requisite pedigree, politically and otherwise,” she said. The statement further reads “UBNi believes that a president from South East, with requisite calibre and discipline, will not only bring about the needed unity for this country but will also bring about economic prosperity, promote local culture, and transform Nigerian trade, both locally and internationally.
“We advise that other political parties including the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, zone their presidential flag bearers to the southeast because it is the right thing to do and it is a way of compensating the zone for their longstanding dedication and unalloyed support garnered in previous elections including the 2019 presidential elections.”
Source: Vanguard News Nigeria
