The Chairman, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Delta State Chapter, Mr Oke Idawene, has said that zoning the 2023 presidency to a particular region of Nigeria is undemocratic and should be discouraged.
Idawene said this in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen.
He said that his party was opposed to zoning.
According to him, the SDP wasn’t for zoning but for competence, adding that it was time we stopped “regional tendencies “in Nigeria.
He explained that the country is one, saying that no matter the situation, Nigeria would not disintegrate, adding that it would be great with the support of all and by God’s grace.
“Let us elect a leader who is a true Nigerian both in body, soul and spirit, so that at the end of the day, we can say Nigeria is going forward, not backwards,” Idawene said.
“Enough of us being a laughing stock, enough of retrogression, it is time to move forward, SDP is anti-zoning, we believe incompetence.
“For the Southern leaders, I am from the South, if you want the presidency in 2023, I call on you to lobby, power is not given for free, it is taken, and it is a collective responsibility,” he added.
Idawene advised political leaders in the zone to leave their comfort zones and go up north to lobby, giving reasons why the south should produce the country’s next president come 2023.
He added that every Nigerian was qualified to run for the presidency irrespective of regions, ethnicity and religion.
