Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has lent his voice to that of the gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Delta State, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, on the need for south to produce the next president of Nigeria.
The Ondo State governor made his position known 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”, recently.
“A party that picked somebody from the North as its presidential candidate is not doing so in the country’s interest. (Peter) Obi has the right to contest because he is from the South. We are ready to give it whatever it takes to make sure power returns to the South in 2023.”
“There appears to be an understanding that power must rotate between the North and the South. This understanding witnessed the contest of two candidates from the South-West for the Presidency. 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.
“There is a conscious attempt not to disrupt the extant agreement. There has 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” insisting that the Presidency of Nigeria must come to the South in 2023 not to thwart the power rotation arrangement in the country.
Olorogun Gbagi, a former minister of State for education, had warned Nigerians of the devastating effect of the decision for power to return the north for another eight years after president Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure of eight years.
He called on the north to support their southern counterpart to support the presidential candidate of SDP, Prince Adebayo Adewole, who he said is the best man the country need as president.
Gbagi who made the call on Saturday June 18th 2022, during a press conference held at his Oginibo country home in Ughelli south local government area of Delta State, said: “Prince Adewole Adebayo is very vibrant, infact in all the interviews, he is the best man Nigeria can ever produce as I speak to you as a presidential candidate”.
Speaking further, the SDP governorship candidate in Delta, said: “Now, we took a decision and at the time, I fought for Jonathan under the Gbagi Foundation to be president, we said the north should do one term which is eight years and election should come back to the south.
“Fortunately for me, I am from the south, I will support a presidential candidate from the south, I don’t know how to pretend.
“As we speak today there are three presidential candidates from the south of Nigeria, don’t be taken for granted and you start crying. There is Adebayo, who is the presidential candidate from the SDP, he is from Ondo State.
“You have my friend Peter Obi, he is not unsound, we have Tinubu. If you people wants this country to move forward, you have the three people to play with but my choice is to vote for Adebayo of SDP. I am a southerner, I support and I ask all southerners to support the south.
“If you do not support the shift of power from the north to the south, then you want the country to suffer. We must bring government to the south for eight years and take government to the north for another eight years, that is the most equitable thing, as a lawyer, I will support the south, anything to the contrary, is dead on arrival” he added.
