Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has the reiterated the stance of leaders of the Southern and Middle-Belt regions of Nigeria that the principle of zoning and power rotation between the North and the South remains sacrosanct.
This is as it called on President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states which according to them are the worst affected states in the Niger Delta region by the devastating floods.
PANDEF, in a communique issued at the end of its extra-ordinary meeting in Abuja which was made available to LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt, maintained that the next president of Nigeria should come from the South.
The communique was signed by the group’s national leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark; national chairman, Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien and four others.
It said: “On the 2023 general elections, particularly the presidency, PANDEF firmly reiterates the stance of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum that the principle of zoning and power rotation between the North and the South remains sacrosanct.
“Accordingly, maintains that the next president of Nigeria should come from the south and calls on all patriotic Nigerians, eligible voters, irrespective of region and religion, who cherish the peace, unity and stability of our country, to vote for a Southern candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
“PANDEF would, in due course, make known to the public its preferred candidate amongst the presidential candidates of Southern extraction, after formal interaction with them.
“Furthermore, PANDEF urges the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sustain the recently recorded improvements in the nation’s electoral process and ensure that the 2023 Elections are free, fair, credible, and reflect the will of the Nigerian electorates, expressed through the votes cast, in all polling units, across the country.”
PANDEF expressed great concern over the level of destruction reported, especially since more than 600 people have so far lost their lives in the ravaging floods, pointing out that the disaster has also sacked millions from their homes and destroyed about three hundred thousand acres of farmland.
