Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu on Wednesday, August 10, said former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar broke the gentleman’s agreement between the south and the north on the rotational presidency, saying he must not be president next year.
He made this call at the one-year remembrance of Prof. Bankole Oke of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, while delivering a lecture entitled, ‘Nigeria: The politics of religion in a transitional society.’
He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that picked Atiku from the north as its presidential candidate, is not doing so in the nation’s interest.
Akeredolu stated that Peter Obi, who is from the south could contest, saying that APC was ready to give it whatever it takes to make sure power returns to the South in 2023.
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According to him, there appeared to be an understanding that power must rotate between the North and the South and that this understanding witnessed the contest of two candidates from the South-West for the Presidency.
He said it was part of the unwritten agreement that the power equation must be balanced to allay the fear of domination harboured by the people of the South.
The governor stated that there had been a conscious attempt not to disrupt the extant agreement, as there had been a seamless transition from one civilian regime to another since 1999, the longest in the political history of the country.
“The current political permutations raise strong suspicions on an undeclared motive to thwart the arrangement that has been working for the country. The rotation of the office of the President is between the North and the South since the inception of the Fourth Republic,” Akeredolu said.
He also lamented that religion was currently being deployed most shamelessly by the elites to gain the unmerited advantage, saying that the earlier the nation stopped this dangerous and divisive campaign, the better it would be for everyone.
Akeredolu said any war fought to establish the supremacy of faith over others could only end in tears, adding that the manipulative skills of politicians currently put to use would aggravate an already bad situation.
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