Party ANPP), Chief Don Etiebet, has expressed reservations over the prin-ciple of geopolitical zoning of the nation’s presidency, saying such arrangement would not augur well for the unity of Nigeria as a nation.
Chief Etiebet, who made this known in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, said that the contest for the nation’s presidency should be open to all eligible Nige-rians based on credibility and merit and not their geopolitical zones or any other considerations.
The former petroleum minister said that rotational presidency in the country would only usher in what he referred to as “parochial, self-ish and tribalistic presidents” that would lead the country to nowhere.
“When the issue was being discussed during the constitutional conference under the late General Sani Abacha, I said that rotational presidency will bring about selective development, and therefore may not go well for the unity of the country.
“If president comes from one zone, he will either close his eyes towards other zones or develop his zone, or he will cancel meaningful policies by his predecessor, if the policies are in contrast with the perception of this zone.
“Again, if a someone becomes president on the basis of zoning, he will em-ploy only his people and develop only his area and so on and so forth.
“Therefore, the country would not have a solid foundation for even development. We would not have a solid foundation that would ens-ure continuity in overall development of the country,” he said.
Chief Etiebet said it was unwise for any section of the country to agitate for power shift, as such agitations were undemocratic. “They are sa-ying that the leadership should go round, go round for what? We are all Nigerians. What we need is a person that can unite this country. Somebody that can bring prosperity, that can revive our education, that can resuscitate our hospitals, that can boost agriculture and create employment.
“Anybody who is ruling this country and says, ‘this is our turn’, means that he is not ruling the entire country but certain sections of the country. And he is offending the constitution,” he said.
The ANPP chairman expressed hope that the party would succeed in a petition it filed at the election tribunal sitting in Abuja over the 2003 general elections, and added that there was a need to make the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Judiciary independent of manipulation of the executive arm of government for them to function effectively.
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