Anyim denies saying it is not right for Southeast to produce next president

A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Pius Anyim, on Sunday denied saying that it was not right for the Southeast to produce Nigeria’s next president.

Anyim, former President of the Senate and one-time Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, had already declared his intention to seek the ticket of his party, to contest the 2023 presidential election.

But an online newspaper quoted him to have said on Saturday that it was not right for the Southeast to produce President
Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.

“Is it right for the Southeast to produce the next president? My answer is legally no, and the reason is that the constitution is clear. The constitution says every Nigerian of 40 years is entitled to aspire for that office,” the online platform quoted Anyim, to have specifically said.

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Anyim, who spoke at an event organised by a group, United For Better Nigeria Initiative, in Abuja, with the theme, “Imperative of Rotational Presidency,” was further quoted to have said: “On the other side, morally, is it right? Is it an entitlement? I will say yes because the federal character principle enshrined in the constitution encourages rotation.

“The reason I have to make this clarification is that when the right you have is not legal, the only approach and the instrument you have is persuasion.”

But a statement by Anyim’s media office on Sunday said the report was mischievous and not a true reflection of what he said on the occasion.

Insisting that it would be contradictory for him to be aspiring for the presidency and at the same time saying it was not right for Nigeria to have a president of Igbo extraction in 2023, Anyim said his comment which was premised on a lecture he delivered at the 6th World Igbo Summit at the Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State on December 18, 2020, was deliberately and grossly misrepresented.

Answering the question on whether a President of Southeast extraction was a right, Anyim said: “Under the Constitution of Nigeria, every adult of 40 years of age is qualified to be elected to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Accordingly, there is nothing under the law that disqualifies any Igbo man from aspiring to be President; the challenge is capacity to meet the mandatory requirement of the highest number of votes and spread.

“The other angle to this perspective is whether zoning the Presidency to the South-East geo-political zone is a right? Legally, the answer is no, but morally there is a merit in such demand.”

Anyim contended further that, “This expectation canvases that the federal character principle has assumed a legal backing. Just as the rotation of the Presidency is not captured in the constitution neither is the geo-political zoning arrangement.

“Still, the fact of the reality of the application of the zonal structure in our national equilibrium has assumed universal moral force that can no longer be ignored nor dispensed with.

“For such critical national office as the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not to be rotated among the zones can only breed discontent and disharmony.”

Anyim explained that though the quest for a president of Igbo extraction was not a legal right but a matter of equity, justice and fairness, it must be pursued with vigorous persuasion and consensus building with other regions.

Senator Anyim, therefore, called on the group, United For Better Nigeria Initiative, and all other such groups that were advocating a power shift to Southeast to double down by strategically engaging other Nigerians through advocacy and dialogue on the need for power to shift to the region, adding that “in a democracy, power is not given just for asking but through deliberate and strategic engagement for mass support.”

He further stated that the journey of building an equitable society was usually a challenging and tough one but noted that despite the challenges, many nations had arrived at the desired destination safely.

Nigeria, Anyim said, must continue to deepen and consolidate the gains of its democracy in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of all Nigerians.(With The Niche report as edited)