Leaders of the North Central zone under the auspices of the North Central Renaissance Movement (NCRM) have stated that the position taken by the North-East and North-West regarding who becomes Nigeria’s president in 2023 will confirm whether they are truly a part of the One North project.
This was as they called on the two major political parties in the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to zone their 2023 presidential tickets to the zone in the interest of fairness and justice.
NCRM stated this on Tuesday at a world press conference which held in Abuja, insisting that the time has come for other geo-political zones in the North to rally behind the North Central to produce the next President of Nigeria.
Chairman of the group, Dr. Nghargbu K’tso, who spoke on their behalf, said the zone will not accept the national chairmanship of any political party as nothing short of the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is good enough for the North-Central in 2023.
“As permutations for 2023 start to coalesce, it is our belief that equity must be done to all sections of this country by correcting historical imbalances that engender pain and frustration among all, or a section of the populace.
“In line with our dataset above, we have demonstrated that there is hardly a more politically excluded, and disgruntled, GPZ in today’s Nigeria than the North Central.
“The exclusion revealed by this data, when weighed against the North Central’s contributions to the socio-political stability of the party, the North and indeed, the whole country, is enough to raise questions of her value as a “co-equal” team player and ally in the North, and in the Nation.
“Likewise, politically, we in the North Central have always stood shoulder to shoulder with our kindred in the North West and North East in all elections as staunchly as differences in political parties will allow, supporting their Presidential Candidates as ours.
“Congress, therefore, resolved that now is the time to request for the same support from our brother GPZs in the North for a North Central Presidential run in 2023. It is one practical way of reassuring us that we are not mere adjuncts but bonafide stakeholders in the One North project, fully entitled in our own rights to aspire and run for the two top leadership positions in this Country.
“It is on this premise that we, the North Central Renaissance Movement (NCRM) demand in the interest of fairness, equity and justice that the Office of President of Nigeria be ceded to the North-Central,” the group said.
This article was originally published on Naija News