South Must Produce Nigeria’s Next President – Omo-Agege

…Inaugurates Tinubu Support Group

Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State, Ovie Omo-Agege, has insisted that Southern Nigeria must produce the next president for the country in 2023.

The current president, Muhammadu Buhari, is from Katsina in the North West of the country, and would be finishing his eight years of two terms by 2023.

Among the three main contenders for the 2023 presidency, two are from the south. They are: Bola Tinubu of the APC from Lagos and Peter Obi of the Labour Party from Anambra State.

The third contender is former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who is from Adamawa State in North East Nigeria.

It is the entry of Atiku into the race that reshaped the political permutation with protest from various southern and middle belt groups demanding power shift from the North to South after Buhari’s tenure.

Omo-Agege restated this call on Monday while inaugurating State Executive and Local Government Area Coordinators of Tinubu Support Organization in Asaba, Delta State.

He urged them “to go out and explain to our people that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, in line with the practice of power rotation, that has been in existence since 1999, the next President should be a Southerner.

“Our party, APC kept faith with this practice and that has been enshrined in the constitution of both the APC and the PDP and nominated a southerner, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as its Presidential candidate.

“We have a formidable Southern candidate in Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is very important because the current democratic dispensation is anchored on the unwritten convention of power rotation driven by the principle of equity.

“It stands on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political arrangement. I urge your group to campaign with this fact as well as the numerous achievements of the Buhari-led administration and be rest assured that Deltans will fully support our great party.

“Let me use this opportunity to advise the Tinubu Support Organization and the other support groups of the party to ensure that their utterances and their activities are fully unifying and not decisive as we campaign for the 2023 election.

“I call on your members and all our supporters to ensure that you mobilize for the Tinubu-Shettima and Omo-Agege-Osanebi tickets as both tickets remain the best option that is fully prepared to reset the country and our dear State.

“There’s no doubt that Tinubu will bring to bear on the nation his experience in positively turning around the socio-economic fortunes of Lagos State.

“Let me assure you and indeed all Deltans that Tinubu-Shettima victory, will bring about quality education for all Nigerians, job creation and the elimination of poverty with a view to eliminating religious and ethnic divisions among Nigerians as there is an overwhelming need for Nigerians to be united.

“I am very optimistic that Bola Ahmed Tinubu will emerge victorious in next year’s presidential election.

“I therefore charge all members of the Tinubu Support Organization and other groups to ensure total victory for our great party during the forthcoming general election.

“The task for all of you is to make sure that APC emerges victorious in all elective offices up till the presidency. I call on Deltans and indeed all Nigerians to rally round the Tinubu-Shettima ticket and vote massively for APC in all elective positions in the 2023 general elections”.

In his remarks, the Delta State Coordinator of Tinubu Support Organization, Philip Kachikwu, expressed optimism that Tinubu would emerge victorious at the polls.

He assured that the group would work a hard for the realisation of the APC candidates in the 2023 general elections.